It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no it’s an extreme outdoor education student flying through the trees at Wildplay! Students spent the day overcoming their fears as they traversed three progressively more challenging high ropes courses, which became higher and more difficult with each level. The most adventurous ones in the group even decided to tackle the extreme course, completing challenges over 60 feet above the ground. Beautiful December sunshine greeted the group of students who learnt how to properly fit a safety harness, how to navigate physical challenges while attached to a safety line, and how to push themselves out of their comfort zone to be able to complete the course. All in all lots of smiling faces and pride in terms of accomplishments were seen at the end of the day. Outdoor Education students please leave a 100 word blog response below.
Mouat Extreme Outdoor Education 
I really enjoyed this trip. It starts out kind of dumbed down for the beginners but when it gets hard it gets hard. It feels like playing the first few levels in a game and then skipping to the final level. What I am trying to explain is that it is an enjoyable and memorable trip with many luxuries included. The most entertaining parts of this trip were the ziplines and rope swinging. I would suggest bringing at least 2 other people you know with you because scaling these heights is terrifying without them. If I could go on it again I would but a third time would be a bit too much.
Good description for the experience. What would you do differently in terms of your preparation?
I finished all the course and enjoyed it, so the only thing I would change would be to bring more people I know.
Any memorable moments?
I think this might be one of the best trips to go on. You learn so much about how to use there equipment which is quite cool and you really learn how much upper body strength you have once you get on the nets. I learned I might need to work out my arms. That part wasn’t very fun! But overall a great experience. Will definitely be going again
Glad you enjoyed it. What were some highlights for the trip for you and what might you have done differently?
I’d never been or done any high rope type thing in my life. I didn’t even know what high ropes were or what wildplay actually was so when we got there I was almost…surprised? I’m not scared of heights, i love travelling in airplanes etc but while going through the course i was very unnerved at the start since i’d never experienced anything like it. Having the safety line made me feel a whole lot better but eventually that weird feeling left and I was having a blast, also because I was with friends which made the experience a lot more fun. It was really fun going through the ziplines and the weird bridges, they were very scary looking but really fun to cross, it was also hilarious seeing everyone else scream and flail around on the higher zip-lines so that was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. I’m really glad that I got to try something new and that it was actually worth it. I would definitely go again. I think if i were to go again the one thing i would’ve done is bring gloves because my hands were so cold especially from touching all the metal around the courses and depending on the weather layered up on pants since i already had on two jackets. Overall I had a really good time at Wildplay and I’m really glad that I was able to go with the class.
I’m glad you enjoyed the experience and it sounds like you were able to pull some good lessons and memories from the experience!
For me, the Wildplay trip was loads of fun. We were lucky enough to have pleasant weather for our time there after weeks of having rain and snow, which was nice. I loved the courses, but my favourite part was definitely the ziplines or the cargo nets. I didn’t like it at first, but the higher I got, the more I realized that on the lower stages, I hadn’t even been that far off the ground! It was fun to be able to experience this with my friends. Personally, if Outdoor Ed had another trip to Wildplay, I’d go again. I didn’t try the extreme courses because my shoes were a bit loose-and parts of their courses were quite rickety- but I’d definitely try it again if I get the chance!
Sounds like a good experience and good identification of things that you’d do differently next time!
the wildpay trip was super fun, i had a great time. it was also super cool being able to go on this trip and try to conquer my fear of heights, it didn’t really work considering i was still scared but i did go on the extreme course which was 60ft in the air, and being able to complete the entire thing was still a huge accomplishement for me. im glad that it was such a nice day and not raining and not snowing, it was still super cold but once i actually got start to do things i warmed up, but my hands wear sore and were starting to hurt after
I’m so glad that you were able to push yourself out of your comfort zone and conquer your fears!
If you give wild-play a try you will be so amazed because how fun it is it hurts you hand a little but while your having fun you barely notice. I have a fear of height but once your up there you almost forget. If you haven’t been you should try.
What things did you learn or would do differently next time?
I had so much fun on the high ropes course at wild play. I love the feeling of being really high in the air and feeling like you are going to fall, so being 60 feet in the air was so fun. I really liked getting to test my boundaries and see if I would be able to do everything that they had. Being outdoors in the fresh air was super nice and a good change from having to stay home because of the floods, I’m super glad this trip got rescheduled. This trip was a great way to push myself to face my fears and to get outdoors.
Sounds like a positive experience and I think we were really lucky with how the weather turned out!
Being on the ropes course was amazing! It was crazy to be so high up in the air, and when you look down everything is tiny. I learnt I have much better upper body strength than I give myself credit for, and how much I enjoy being in nature. I learnt how to be safe on different courses, and for next time, how not to bang your head into the bar at the end of a zip line. Everything went very smoothly, however I wish I had realized a little earlier exactly why it’s so important to be facing perfectly straightforward on a zip line (see « how not to bang your head into a zip line »).
That’s always a good thing to learn-sorry you had to find out the hard way. Anything you might do differently next time in terms of preparation?
For me personally i loved the trip over all it was very exiting but also scary since your so high I think people should go to wild play because you get the full experience of being a monkey also get a lot of exercise.
What were some of your personal highlights? Anything you might do differently next time?
At first I was scared out of my mind on the smallest level and then I was scared even more when my friends made me to the extreme level. Either way I really enjoyed this trip I learnt that I have a fear of heights and also that I probably wont ever get over my fear of heights because that level kind of just traumatized me and left me shaking but overall the trip was fun and the only thing I would change is bringing my Gopro next time.
Sounds like a good experience where you pushed yourself out of your comfort zone. I bet if you went again you’d find that you would start getting more comfortable with heights!
Wild Play was both thrilling and terrifying. But it was more fun than anything. Because there were varying levels of difficultly it eased me into going on the extreme course. I would highly recommend that people go on this trip because it’s fun and gets people out of their comfort zones, go with friends and have fun! The most thrilling part about the trip for me was the ziplines because then you didn’t have to use your arms. I never realized how little upper body strength I had until then. But all in all, I had a wonderful experience climbing in the trees.
That’s great that you enjoyed yourself. Anything you might do differently to prepare for next time?
I remember when I was younger I drove past wildplay and wanted to go there since but never had the chance to until now. I had loads of fun going on all the different courses. I learnt that I really don’t mind heights at all and I actually quite enjoy them. One thing I wish I did though was bring more food. I got quite hungry after finishing all the courses. I also thought some of the transitions could’ve gone smoother for me. At some points the harness just got stuck on things and it took me a little while to get going again. Overall this was a really fun trip and I’d definitely do it again in the future.
I’m glad that you joined the “I’ve always wanted to do that program” and came to Wildplay!
We showed up, we got the tutorial and started the beginner course. Alex Bol and Michael Donohue were with me and we made our way up to the extreme course. Being 60 feet in the air was terrifying and nearly dropped my phone a couple times. Next time I’d make sure to probably leave my phone in my bag. Thankfully it was nice out and the weather wasn’t too bad, because if it was rainy it would’ve been worse. Overall was a great experience and had a great time.
What were some of the trip highlights for you?
I really liked this. It was super fun, i went with my friends and it was all joking around and taking risks while going in higher levels. Each level had its thing, first one it was fun and just to get going, second one got really hard and not everyone did it but i liked it. The third and last was really hard we were so high and only a few people did it, me and my friends did it. It was really fun i would go again sometime. Its worth it.
Sounds like a good time. Anything you might do differently in terms of preparation?