Yes Girl

“Off the beaten track” seems to hold a mystical allure to most travellers these days. We crave the unique and yearn for authenticity over the loathed “tourist traps.”

But you shouldn’t automatically dismiss the activities that receive the Top Tourist Attraction ranking on Trip Advisor.

Hanging upside-down from a zip-line, dangling 80 meters above a canyon in Mele Bay Vanuatu, I had a thought that completely shifted my travel paradigm.

You don’t have to find the rarest secluded beach or an eatery that ‘only the locals know about.’ You just have to leave your preconceptions at the airport and be willing to always say that one little, three letter word; Yes.

Perched on a wooden ledge in the midst of a tropical jungle, our guide –a tall, lithe man who earlier looked me in the eye with a deadpan expression and told me that it was his first day on the job – asked with a cheeky smirk, if I wanted to go upside-down?

My travel mantra is “Try everything, at least once,” and so I found myself rocking my hips forward to hook my ankles over the pulley, much to the bemusement of my travel companions.

Counting down from three, the guide let go of the cable and a feeling of pure, unadulterated weightlessness consumed me. The nagging thoughts that the cable might break or that I might smash into the landing platform, dissipated instantly and I smile; a big, toothy ear-to-ear grin because in that moment, I was infinitely glad I said ‘Yes.’

Afterward, I watched my friend, incoming on the zip-line, rosy-cheeked and mirroring my elation. Exhilarated from her flight, she turned to me and asked “Did you see the waterfall!?”

“There was a waterfall?” I replied, bewildered at how I could’ve missed something so obvious.

Apparently, the seasonal waterfall is the talking point of the zip-line tour – a stunning view not to be missed. And I missed it because I was so enraptured by the thought that in that exact moment in time, I was doing something as crazy as zip-lining through a jungle, upside-down and backwards.

Did I care that I’d missed the pinnacle of the zip-line tour? Absolutely not.

Take a risk, trust your gut instinct and never be afraid to say 'Yes.' Don't let other travellers worries or doubts dictate your experiences because you never want to return home and think 'What if...'