Spa Rope Bridge

The mule got stuck in the river on day two. Four-wheel drive, low ratio, a vehicle built for exactly this terrain - and still the water came up over the wheel arches and we sat there in the rain working out how to winch ourselves out. I remember thinking the bridges would be the easy part. They were.

Discovery Land Company had taken on something rare at North Shore Preserve on Kauài - a guest journey from villa accommodation through rainforest to a woodland spa, with the same fast river to be crossed four times. Until then it had only been possible by 4WD mule. They wanted the walk back. Not a path with handrails. A proper rainforest crossing, tree-to-tree, that felt like part of the island rather than something dropped onto it.

This is what people are really asking when they ask about rope bridges over rivers at a luxury resort. Will it hold up in the wet? Will it disturb the trees? Will it feel manufactured? We worked in Ekki - a West African hardwood used for marine pilings, Class 1 durability, the kind of timber that goes into harbour walls and stays there for fifty years. Tree mounts were soft webbing slings, zero penetration, adjusting as the trees grow. The whole wish-list came together in a Surrey Hills workshop and shipped door-to-door in a single container.

Charlie, Paddy, Kevin, Alex and myself worked eight days through torrential rain and mud. Laird Hamilton walked one of the bridges with us and asked good questions. The team body-boarded badly on the day off. The guests now arrive at the spa already in the rainforest's rhythm...which I think is the point.