Trees Rope Obstacle Course * Kids to Adrenalin Courses * Min 7yrs+ & 110cm * Toilets * Picnic Tables * Basic Drinks & Snacks Available for Purchase * Bookings Recommended * Open Thursday – Monday (Closed Tuesday& Wednesday) * Open Daily in the School Holidays * Group Bookings Available Daily
Forest Adventures South West, located just north of Busselton is your ultimate South West family adrenaline rush and promises to be one of the best family days out you will ever have.
Opened in November 2016, Forest Adventures is an obstacle course elevated amongst the trees in the beautiful Tuart Forest. There are 65 obstacles in total including 500m’s of flying foxes (zip lines). Courses start with the kids course for anyone from 7 years (and min 110cm that has low elevation and requires minimum skill, to go right up to the Adrenalin Course that is elevated high and requires a high skill level), with something in between for the whole family (from age 7+).
When you arrive you are suited up with a helmet and harnessbefore gathering for the course training and safety talk. The locking system is explained anddemonstrated to show how the system works to keep you locked onto the course atall times.
You’ll then work your way through the short ground level course with the Forest Adventures instructors and once they give you the ok you are on your way. This training and practice course takes approx. 20 mins and starts at the beginning of your session time.
We all started at Level 1 (above), which was perfect for us all to get a hang of the locking system on some easier obstacles. Some 7 year olds may find the kids courses quite challenging and daunting . While the Level 1 course is the lowest level course it is still elevated well above the ground and even though kids 7-11 years are required to have a participating adult with them, they also need to have the confidence to work the locking system and negotiate the obstacles fairly independently for you both to get the most out of your Forest Adventures session. Having a 6 & ½ year old I think he would have found the first course a little difficult, so this activity is definitely better suited to the older kids.
As we worked our way through the obstacle courses they started to get a little harder and longer. Each obstacle is a surprise with something different to challenge your strength, balance and coordination and most of all your courage as you start processing what it is you are about to do 10’s of metres above the ground, up in the trees.
We negotiated elevated stepping stones, tunnels, bridges and see-saws before coming across the snowboard obstacle on the Level 2 course. It’s pretty terrifying as you step off the platform onto a snowboard that you know is going to roll down the cables to the next platform as you try to balance and hold on.
The first levels took around 20 minutes each, so if you have younger children (7-<9yrs) they are only permitted on these courses with a participating adult and should have plenty of time to complete both of them twice in the two hour session.
Moving onto the 3rd course (the Family Course for 9yrs+ and 120cm) things stepped up a little bit. This course was a little bit longer and more challenging than the kids courses and took approx. 30mins to complete. The most challenging was the bike ride across the elevated bridge. It’s unbelievable how hard it was to take your feet off the platform and try to ride the bike along it. I managed to ride a few meters with my feet on the pedals but it was so scary, but fun too!
Including the training your session is 2 hours. We managed to complete the training, two kids courses and family course with about 10 minutes to spare. We were pretty worn out at this point so I can only imagine how physically and mentally challenging the more advanced courses are. We will definitely give these a go next time.
Forest Adventures Busselton is open Thursday – Monday (daily in the school holidays) and is open for group bookings daily. The obstacles are set out throughout the forest and there are pathways to each obstacle so spectators can watch all the action from right underneath each obstacle. Spectators can also help with dragging moving obstacle course equipment back to the start of the obstacle by the rope hanging down to the ground below (there are ropes at the top to pull them across too). Younger children not able to climb with older siblings climbing may enjoy helping from the ground.
Picnic tables can be found at the park so you may want to enjoy a packed lunch or snack after your session to enjoy the beautiful forest serenity. There are basic snacks and drinks available at the office. BBQs are only available for group bookings and you are not permitted to bring along your own BBQ.
There is a full FAQ page on the Forest Adventures website however just a couple of tips from us. It’s recommend you wear long pants and long sleeves for the best protection from insects, however I recommend you wear clothing you can move well in like active wear or tracksuit pants. I found it a little difficult to move in jeans when crawling through narrow hoops and tunnels and trying to pedal the bike.
Also make sure you allow plenty of time to get to Forest Adventures at least 30 mins before your session. You need to sign some paperwork and get your equipment fitted. If you arrive later the time to do this will cut into your climbing session time. Oh and make sure you book! It’s a long way to drive and find sessions are fully booked. There are only a certain number of spaces and this attraction is very popular, particularly during peak holiday times.
Thanks so much for having us Forest Adventures. We had an amazing time and we highly recommend adding a day out amongst the trees in the beautiful Tuart Forest at Forest Adventures to your South West adventure itinerary. All the staff were amazing, providing encouragement along the way and didn’t hesitate to “rescue” our 10yo who took on the fourth course but wasn’t quite up to the vertical climb. Book it in! It’s one of the best family days out you will ever have. Tickets start from $34 for kids 7-11yrs.
More information: www.forestadventures.com.au
How To Get There:
Review by Kids Around Perth Reporter Lauren, 22nd April 2017
Back to Margaret River Attractions , Busselton
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