Hawaiian Falls: On the Ropes!

Aloha! Today I want to share about a local water and adventure park my family has been enjoying this summer, just 15 minutes outside of Austin Hawaiian Falls Pflugerville.  They have several locations all over Texas, with this being the newest and one of the only ones to have an Adventure Park, with a ropes course, zip lines, free fall drop and climbing wall. I really like water parks, but this place has so much more, which is why I love it!

My teenage son, Jonathan who has admitted to me a tiny fear of heights, braved the obstacles, and some of these are pretty legit! Whether that was because the course beckoned, or he didn't want to get shown up by his little bro, he went for it after all!  We did a Canopy Course in New Braunfels at Natural Bridge Caverns and although it was a good time, being in a solid track system, you never felt unstable there, no danger, you could literally hang by your harness and not move.  At Hawaiian Falls, your smart belay system is attached to a second cable while you carefully walk leaf, jump, hang or climb across tilting beams, tiny platforms and hanging cargo nets. So while you are always safely hooked in, you are not balanced or guaranteed to make it to the next obstacle without careful navigation (but you can grab on the "wimp rope" (my term, and yes, full disclosure, I had to rely on it a few, but not every, time) or your harness to steady yourself, don't worry!  Great core workout! I won't name names, but one member of my (not immediate) family, actually got stuck on one of the dangling cargo nets and had to be retrieved.  It's not easy!  You feel like a beast when you're done! Roar!  This was my second time to do it this week, and I admit I did reach up a few times to just check to make sure both belays were definitely tethered before stepping out three stories onto a cable.  

I fished my smartphone out of my pocket and risked smashing it several stories below just to give you this pic!  That's about a 5 foot gap there to either leap to the next solid step, or, trudge across the cables.

 Here's William making his way across the swinging beams on the 3rd story.  These move a lot. No wimp rope to grab here!

Now the zip lines, honestly, jarred me a bit at the stops when I first tried the zips here last autumn, so I didn't do it the time before last, and may not recommend the zip part if you have neck or back issues, but really enjoyed taking some photos and videos of the kids flying over the park.  But, this last weekend, I went on it again, asking for tips from the attendant to minimize before taking the leap of faith.  "Curl up into a ball right before the end, it keeps your arms and legs from flailing."  I have to say this really helped!  So much better.  Highly recommended. Fun, safe thrills.  You are not allowed to have your phone on for aerial views, but here's someone flying over the lazy river!

I am so impressed with this organization and after meeting some of the management and sharing I had a blog, they offered to sponsor some specials and giveaways I can share here with you throughout the summer!  Don't wait to try it though, if you have a good day to go!  They have so many great deals, that if you plan it right you'll never have to pay fill price!  Currently available: 2 for 2 Sundays, Maui Mom Mondays, get in free with purchase of child ticket, and $2 Tuesday, buy one get one for just $2!)  Combo family packs  can also be purchased through Costco if you have a membership, just $99 for 4 which includes 4 combo meals! Next I think we will check out Friday Night Slides, where for only $10 you can slide from 8-10 PM (on Friday) with slides lit up with LED for a very different nighttime experience!  Wish I could get photos of that!  Thursdays for the rest of the summer they will also have movie nights where you can relax in a tube in the wave pool while watching a family on a gigantic outdoor screen.

I hope you check out this park with your family if you have one nearby or are planning a trip! Have a great day! :)