langkawi magazine

Nature SECTION

Managers Find Answers Swinging From a Langkawi Tree

A new product in Malaysia geared to instill in corporate managers a take-the-plunge attitude has opened. The Langkawi Canopy Adventure (LCA) enables air trekking from tree to tree, like a modern-day Tarzan or Jane, in the midst of one of the world's oldest rainforests.

The adventure is done over seven stages and can take more than two hours. Apart from air trekking - the term for swinging across cables connected between trees - it also involves abseiling and walking across a ravine on a single cable. The adventure begins with, literally, taking the plunge. After climbing a ladder up a tree, getting hooked up to cables and safety harnesses and sitting on a platform, participants must - and this is the hardest part - let themselves go.

When they do this, they will be swung to the next tree, well above ground level. LCA technical director, Mr Juergen Zimmerer, said: 'From the leadership training perspective, this adventure is designed to encourage the individual to move forward.' It is targeted at individuals pushing forward processes and frontiers. 'Our customers, who can initially be worried, gain confidence as they go from stage to stage. It contributes towards character building and we can see it happen,' Mr Zimmerer said. There is a hidden message in the final two legs of the adventure. A thrilling 100m long air trek ends at the top of a 30m high fig tree and an abseil from this tree to the ground concludes the adventure. Possible messages: however high you go, always make sure you are connected to those below you. Or, however long it takes to get to the top, the ride down is a short one.

Mr Zimmerer personally designed and created this adventure at a cost of RM250,000 (US$66,000). He has leased a corridor in the Mt Raya forest reserve from the Forestry Department to offer the adventure. The cost of the adventure starts from RM180 per person.

Langkawi 1/7/2002