Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a bird? Flitting through the tree tops, swooping through the forest’s cool green mansions, then rising above the overarching canopy to feel the sun’s warm glow on your plumage, and exalt in the total freedom of the sky?

Well, we might not be able to transform you into an actual bird, but we can at least give you a taste of the life they experience. Pay a visit to the tree-top adventure park in Knoxville, Tennessee in the good old USA, and we will have you zipping through the trees in bird style for the pulse-pounding thrill ride of a lifetime! This is a zipline adventure, where you get to soar through the trees high above the forest floor in total safety, although you might have a hard time convincing your tummy of that! You will get used to it after a moment or two, and then you, too can exalt in the fantastic feeling of flying, a sensation like no other!

Although ziplining for fun and adventure is a modern phenomenon, the origin of the sport begins far back in history. In ancient times the forerunners of the zipline, originally constructed from natural fibre ropes and wooden pulleys, were used for the convenient transportation of goods and people across nearly impassable mountain terrain that would have otherwise been the sole domain of experienced and courageous climbers.

Many centuries ago, zipline use was recorded in China’s Nujiang Valley in Yunnan Province. The area is remote even today thanks to its rugged mountains, valleys, and rivers, making the region difficult to travel through. Back then it was exponentially harder to traverse, and so ziplines were set up to replace hazardous river crossings by ferry, or even swimming the murky, fast-moving waters. In modern times most of the ziplines were made obsolete by bridges, but a few remain, although the original materials have been updated to cable and steel for safety’s sake.

A form of the zipline has been used by mountain climbers in Europe for many decades, the most famous being the Tyrolean Traverse, a technique used to pass across free space between two high points via a rope. The name comes from the Tyrolean Alps where the method was developed in the late 19th century to move more safely through treacherously steep areas of the mountains that would be difficult and dangerous to climb.

When Westerners began to explore the Australian Outback, they were faced with strange animal species, a hostile environment, and difficult terrain. Ziplines came into use as a safe and speedy way to cross over hazardous regions like deep gullies, and treacherous rivers through the air. The ziplines were put into service for the delivery of mail, food, and occasionally people.

And so today we are fortunate to have ziplines for the sole purpose of having fun, a wonderful way for people to experience the beauty of nature from a real bird’s eye view.