Day 164 Canyoning

Da Lat is not only known for its flowers, but also for its outdoor activities. Whether it's mountain biking, hiking, or canyoning. And it was exactly because of canyoning that I came here. Another traveler somewhere in Thailand had told me about it and I really wanted to give it a try. Canyoning is about rappelling down rock walls and waterfalls. Sounds like fun, right?

After my group was equipped with gear, including a wetsuit, harness, helmet, and gloves, we received a theoretical introduction to rappelling. After the theory, we had a practice wall to show whether we understood everything and to gain some experience with rappelling. It seemed like I was the only one in the group who had some experience with it already, so the exercises were easy for me. After everyone felt more or less confident at the practice wall, we hiked through the forest to our first rock wall. The challenge was to rappel down about 18 meters next to a waterfall and then let the river wash us away from the wall. It was a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, it became clear that this activity involved a certain amount of risk. After a misstep on the wall, one participant complained of severe pain in her foot. She had to be taken to the hospital with a suspected broken foot. It was a small shock for the group, but we all wanted to continue.

After a small lunch, we continued wading downstream until we reached a smaller waterfall. It had a natural structure that could be used as a slide. So we slid down the waterfall. Those brave enough could even slide backward. Of course, I had to try it.

After the refreshing swim, we reached the second wall where we had to rappel down 15 meters. This time everything went well and we had no further injuries. Slowly, everyone gained more courage and trust, so it went faster and faster until everyone was down.

After rappelling, we reached the next waterfall. It had a deep enough pool for jumping, if desired. There were 3 levels: 7 meters, 9 meters, and 11 meters. As an entry, we were all supposed to jump from 7 meters. Those who wanted could try a second jump from a different height. The men in our group all wanted to jump from 11 meters, while the women were content to watch us. To jump from 11 meters, you had to take a little run-up from the top because you had to clear a 1-meter overhanging cliff. That gave us all more of a headache than the height. But once the first person jumped and pulled the shortest stick, the rest of us saw that it wasn't a problem. And so we all jumped. We had so much fun that we wanted to jump again.

The finale was at the last waterfall, called the washing machine. We had to rappel down again for 15 meters, but the wall was only about 4 meters, so the rest had to be rappelled in the open air down the waterfall. In the end, you get swallowed up by the waterfall and flushed out through a narrower passage. It shook us up quite a bit, like in a washing machine. What a fun experience.

After one last group photo, it was unfortunately already over. I would have liked to continue a bit longer.

But it is known that it is best to stop when you're having the most fun.