Flying over the River

For years in the 'before times,' I used to invite people to join me for photo walks and other photography opportunities. Rarely, am I the one who is invited to a photo meetup.

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited by the Ottawa Instagram group, IgersOttawa, to participate in a rare photo opportunity, and I'm glad I went.

Through IgersOttawa's organization and an offer through Interzip Rogers, about a dozen photographers were allowed to take the zipline across the Ottawa River from Chaudière Island to Gatineau and photograph it. The opportunity was rare because photography is not allowed on the zipline—all personal effects are stored in the office where you sign the waiver and collect your harness and other gear.

We had to sign an agreement that said if we dropped any of our gear while crossing the river, it was an unfortunate mishap that was our fault and our fault alone. Too bad, so sad.

I took my Insta360 One R camera and a selfie stick that I could tether around my wrist, and headed out. I've gone over a waterfall with this rigging and didn't let go of the camera, so a zipline was no problem.

Interzip is Canada's only interprovincial zipline, crossing from Ontario into Québec. The ride takes you 36.5 metres (120 feet) above the river and runs 427 metres (1,200 feet) from start to end. Depending on the wind and your weight, the ride takes about 30 seconds or so.

If you saw last week's Wordless Wednesday's post, you've seen the still images that I captured from the video that I shot as I travelled across the Ottawa River. But I also captured video before and after the action, and I've made a short video to document the experience. I've posted it to my YouTube channel but you can watch it here.

It was a great experience and the view is great (it'll only get better once the area is more developed) but there's no adrenaline rush unless you're afraid of heights, and even then, there's not much fear. I'm afraid of heights but felt secure in the harness.

I can't thank IgersOttawa enough for thinking of me and inviting me to come out and document a rare opportunity. Thanks also to Interzip Rogers for allowing me to ride for free.

If ziplining is your thing, definitely give this one a try.

Happy Monday!