Up In The Sky Over Hilton Head Island

Posted: April 27, 2012 by Erline Smith

Is it a plane, bird, Super Woman? Yes, it’s Dunes Marketing Realtor, Erline Smith, zipping through the canopies of live oaks, loblolly pines and a Peter tree. You’ll have to go zipping to discover just what a Peter tree is, but it’s there and zipping is worth every penny it costs. Which, by the way, is $89.00. Zippers must be at least 10 years old and weigh between 80 pounds and 250 pounds. You MUST wear closed toed shoes, long pants, if long hair in a pony tail holder under a hard hat….. They gave me an extra cushioned hard hat because I had earned the name “Trouble.” My reputation preceded me it seemed. I was asked my favorite cartoon character and out of the blue, I said “Boo Boo” - you know Yogi Bear’s Boo that just waits on someone else to find the honey and the picnic basket!!! Well, today I got the whole nine yards……  a picnic basket with honey over flowing with knowledgeable guides, Nikki (married to a Marine living in Beaufort) and Aaron, a handsome young man originally from Ohio that was a pretend Navy Seal just for me!

Zipline Hilton Head opened its service last week on April 17. They have had a very promising, busy beginning for their first week. I picture it as becoming one of the major attractions in the Southeast. They are in the baby stage, but doing very well. Under the management of Pam and Roger Freedman, their office is located upstairs of Up The Creek Pub at the Broad Creek Marina off Marshland Road near the Cross Island Parkway toll bridge. They have put a tremendous amount of thought, planning, organizing, hiring and training into this new adventure on Hilton Head with more to come in the near future.

Safety is first and foremost. Zippers are carefully attached to each zipline by the qualified guides. There is a guide in front and a guide at the end. Zippers are required to remove dangling jewelry. A bag is provided and kept in a safe place while you zip. Don’t forget the closed toe shoes. Flip-flop wearing zippers are directed to Walmart to pick up appropriate shoes for safety. I imagine they will soon keep shoes on hand as they grow as well as a professional photographer to capture pictures.

Each of the seven ziplines provided a new adventure and different scenery. Sun sparkling like diamonds off of Broad Creek, dolphins, birds, just simply learning about the nature of the island from each landing….. I say….

Don’t wait…… Don’t be late…… go zipping!!! You’ll be glad you did!!!! It’s not as scary as I thought it would be, but it was definitely more fun than I thought it would be. I’m ready to zip again as soon as I can!