This month for our activity page we decided to take it up a notch… It was a lot of fun, even if it took a bit of an effort to get there!
When it comes to family activities it’s hard to find something the whole family can enjoy together but this month we checked out Pulse Climbing and had so much fun we then decided to tackle Treetops Adventure!
Pulse Climbing has three locations, Gosford, Warners Bay and Maitland, where you can try your hand at bouldering, as well as a fourth location at Adamstown which also has top-ropes facilities in addition to bouldering.
Top rope climbing is where the climber is attached to a climbing rope that runs through a fixed anchor at the top and down to the belayer on the ground who is responsible for letting out the rope as they climb. As the belayer has to be at least twelve years old we decided to check out the Maitland location and try our hand at bouldering.
Bouldering is simple and suitable for ages 5 and up. There are no ropes of any sort so after a quick safety briefing and hiring some climbing shoes we were ready to go.
Bouldering isn’t just a physical sport; you have to use your brain as well to navigate the best route up the wall using the artificial grips and footholds. Holds of varying colours indicate the difficulty of the climb and it’s not just a matter of brute strength to get to the top but figuring out which hand or foot to use on each hold. Strength to bodyweight ratio also comes into play as I discovered when I realised the kids were way better at it than me!
Then, believe it or not, falling is part of the fun!
Thick padded mats run along the walls and once you’ve made it to the top you simply fall backwards and land safely on the mat.
There are easy climbs for beginners and young kids all the way up to climbs that seemed impossible unless you are a monkey, it really is a great activity for the whole family. We had so much fun climbing indoors that we decided to head to Treetop Adventures the following weekend.
Treetop Adventures have sixteen parks around Australia. Our closest one is at Newcastle, located near Minmi. It has eight different courses with over 90 aerial challenges and 20 ziplines, all nestled among native gum trees.
There are age requirements for the more advanced courses but our six year old had a ball on the Junior Courses while a parent supervised from the ground. Our ten year old had a crack at the beginner, intermediate and advanced courses and then it was left to me to tackle the expert course on my own as you had to be thirteen.
While the safety briefing is more extensive than for Pulse Climbing once you have been harnessed in and learnt the ropes (literally) it’s as simple as attaching once at the beginning of the course and then detaching at the end – no continuously fiddling about clipping on and off to worry about.
With a lot of laughs we fumbled our way through the courses that consisted of wobbly bridges, rope ladders and all manner of wooden and rope obstacles.
The best part by unanimous agreement was the zip lines where it was as easy as buckle in, lean back and enjoy the rush as you whip through the trees hollering Tarzan calls.
