Howletts in the Rain

Day 3 of the Silverwoods Invasion and the troops head off for Howletts where they get to see the gorillas, African Hunting Dogs, wolves, elephants and assorted monkeys and where the girls get to do the 'Treetop Challenge" but where it starts raining heavily by lunchtime so that what they mainly see are empty enclosures with animals inside their little sheds, boxes and houses.

Mum and Dad (cheek!) comment that whilst Haggis (pictured here 'mantling' over a 'dead beast') might be related to the magnificent white wolf they see, or the African dogs, I am more likely to be related to a couple of bad tempered lemurs who are screaming abuse at each other because the one had come close to invading the bedspace of the other. The comments are Ragworth related.

The girls 'challenge' is a high level ropeway through the trees with a variety of obstacles and variously-scary surfaces to walk on. They are protected by being in full safety harness, carabina'd to a zip-wire but they won't need that unless they fall. They must negotiate a full circuit of tests between small high safety platforms, sometimes walking a tightrope, sometimes scrambling across tyres, sometimes hanging logs, wobbly platforms or spiderwebs of rope. It's an exciting test and the girls battle through it given 'encouragement' from the grown-ups (bravely safe!) on the ground. It ends with a long swooping zip-wire ride back to ground level, where the girls collect their £10 prize reward and a commemorative 'Treetop Challenge' hat. Go J-M, Go Em-J !!!

Deefs