Paul J Penton – Songwriter

Adventure- Daily Object Writing- Nov 28

Rockin’ Ropes I think it was called down there in Rotarua N.Z. We arrived at a yard full of telegraph poles with ropes stretched out in place of telegraph wires. Yes we were going to be walking these thin strands soon After a quick safety talk we don harnesses. Cradles are strapped across our shoulders and under our groins like a parachute harness.

The first pole is easy, hand over hand I ascend. The cold memory of the metal speaks to my hands. 20 feet up, stretched between two poles are two ropes a body height apart – the idea is to shuffle along them For safety we are tethered to a rope to catch us if we fall. It looks easy, but the reality is more challenging – there is no solidity when you’re on the rope. My hands slip and rasp along the top rung of knotty threads, my feet yo yo on the bottom one. The difficult part is when I counterbalance with my feet, my body goes out at an angle and the rope begins oscillating. It feels as if there’s nothing solid beneath me and my straining arms give up and I fall. A moment of panic, a pump of adrenaline from my racing heart and I’m caught by the safety rope.

I progress through all the levels heading toward the final test: Another telegraph pole is scaled – this time all the way to the top. Standing on top of it is tricky-but manageable I sway vertigiously for some moments before fixing my gaze on a trapeze some several feet out of reach. This is the final test – a leap of faith, all I see is the bar and the clear air in between. I know I can do it after the build up of the day, but it looks just a little too far………