Selvatica

As part of our R&R I thought it would be a good idea to check out some of the treetop activities that they have in the Cancun area so I was given the task of finding something different to do.

My first suggestion was to visit a park called Hidden Worlds in Tulum which had the first installation of the Avatar One zipline rollercoaster, which looked insane. However in early 2014 the park fell off the internet and through some friends who have contacts in Cancun we discovered that the park had failed to get the necessary permits required to open for the season and was now closed. The Avatar Ones are now starting to appear around the world with known installations in Australia, Florida and South Korea. 

So another option had to be found and soon after I located Selvatica, an activity centre in the middle of the Cancun jungle midway between Cancun and Playa del Carmen. The website offers off-roading, ziplines and something they called Tarzania.

This is how its presented on their website. When I showed this to Tal and Thomas we instantly agreed we had to go and check this place out. This wasn't as flimsy as the zipline coaster down the road so less likely to be shot down as "not a coaster". As a negative the website stated there was a weight limit of 110kg to do this so myself and Tal, both over the weight, did what we had to ahead of the trip to get our weight down...not easy. Lucky Thomas already has a good enough metabolism to make the weight.

We arranged the tickets with our hotel agreeing to be picked up the following morning and the driver Jesus was prompt, picking up some other passengers from neighbouring hotels before heading out into the jungle.

The centrepiece of the complex is a large hut/gift shop structure with a number of offshoot areas for the groups to have lunch, which they include in the price (drinks are extra)

After a quick induction we were taken to our first activity, some off road quad riding and as transit between the various sites you get to ride these suspension-less army trucks. It's quite funny being thrown about as the truck negotiates the bumpy roads.

 There were a mixture of vehicles to choose from including double-seater buggies but we all decided to ride individually in some bad ass quad bikes and being immediately behind the guide quickly left the others behind. I then lost the others and came to a huge crevasse that looked too steep to go down so I backtracked and eventually caught them up where they told me they had followed the guide down into it. It wasn't even 9 o'clock and were were already covered in dust, dirt and sweat but already buzzing from the drive. The day had gotten off to a great start!

The next set of challenges were climbing based and knowing my limits I took a pass on these. Tal to his credit gave everything a go. Good on him!

We then had a quick photo opportunity with the local wildlife. I love this photo of Tal, I don't think he liked being clawed. Throughout our day we were being followed by a team of photographers who'd record our day. I'm glad they took this one haha!

To give us a chance to cool off occasional trips to nearby cenotes are included. These are natural pools of water within the rocky ground that we can swim in, dive into, or zipline into. Thomas and I were the only two who swam in it properly. The rest of the group that we were with stuck to the zipline only.

Speaking of ziplines the afternoon was spent negotiating around a dozen of them varying in height and length. We got a very fun initiation on how best to zipline, ensuring your hands don't get caught. 

This is an upside down zipline long enough to give you time to flip yourself upside down and lock onto the restraint above. The guide behind controls your speed because you're unable to grip the cable to slow down.

and you're also encouraged to flip on a bungee swing that you do after negotiating a series of rope bridges which follow the ziplines. The ziplines are great and we're already looking to include more of these on our holidays. 

Then it was time to ride the Tarzania and after ascending a high tower you're put into a harness which when you're hooked up to the bogie becomes your seat for the ride, and what a ride it is. It's definitely a coaster experience with a nice hill at the start and an utterly superb drop in the final straight before the ride comes to a stop. It's short but it's amazing. Even better when we got to the ride the signs stated a 120kg weight limit, and we were below that :D

Here's footage that someone else has uploaded to youtube. It gives you an idea of what the ride is like.

Having climbed the tower a second time we had a nice group shot taken before finishing with the final zipline, the Superman one.  

This is a flying zipline which I think in hindsight was more thrilling than the zipline coaster. It was scary at the top as you're harnessed up on a table and you then have to wriggle out hoping the cables will take your weight. 

I felt a bit like a killer whale when it has to wriggle back into the water.

Once I knew the cable was going to take my weight I was completely at ease and I was able to enjoy the ride even posing like superman as I shot past the camera team. The stop was pretty hard as you have to tuck in your chin and cross your arms across your shoulders in a brace position. Us big lads were testing the brake cables very well as we'd shoot much further into the brake run that the rest of the group.

Buzzing from the adrenaline and totally covered in dirt and dust clearly meant that we'd had a great day, way better than we could have foreseen. Selvatica is winning awards and I can see why. It's an amazing place that I definitely recommend if you've a spare day in Cancun. They do have half day options also if you're just interested in the ziplines or the swimming however the Tarzania only comes in the full-day do everything option.

The photos aren't included and cost me $60 which I had no qualms in paying. There are more expensive options where you can get videos and albums, but I was happy with just the photos they'd took - they were great mementos of a great day.

Another tip is to take a spare pair of trousers. In travelling light I'd only brought one and it now meant I had to wear these battered trousers to the evening activities, which I'd also organised. Time for Trampy Marr to hit the town.

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