Anchors Above Zipline Adventures - French River, NS

There are only a few things that really bother me. Loud eaters and being woken up from a deep sleep are high on that list, but it is a simple phrase that gets me going the most. “There is nothing to do in Nova Scotia.”

I’ll admit, there have been times in the past that I have muttered that phrase. The reality is that Nova Scotia is bursting with all kinds of great activities, businesses and natural wonders. I discover something new about this province every day.

One of my favourite new discoveries is Anchors Above Zipline Adventures. Yes, you heard right, we have ziplining right here in Nova Scotia. Not only does it exist, it is open year round (you need to book in advance) and is a mere hour and 45 minutes from downtown Halifax.

Here is another thing that bothers me. No, bothers me is the wrong word, it is something that really scares me. Heights. A few years ago I tried to jump off of the 5m diving board at Centennial Pool. I did it, but it took me three hours of standing up there to get up the courage.

So, it was for pure exploration reasons that I found myself at Anchors Above on a snowy April morning. Following the signs, we made our way to a small white building on a huge tree-filled property. Timmy, the owner, greeted us, and quickly took us through our paces, grabbing harnesses, helmets and carabiners and getting us prepped for our ride.

To get to the lines, you have to take a short hike uphill. It took about 5 minutes and left me a little out of breath. Drew and I decided that I should go first – mostly because if I was the last person on the platform it is very unlikely I would have jumped…

Here is what happened…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXFXcfvl59g

Despite being really afraid of heights, I had a blast at Anchors Above. So much so, that I did the course a second time. The first line takes about a minute from start to end, and is the slower ride out of the two. The second takes only 30 seconds from top to bottom. You have to ride both lines, something I didn’t realize when I was first looking into this adventure.