“flying” at Camp Sabros, Davao!
8 Jul 09
A month ago, a friend introduced me to the concept of the wingsuit (via TED.com). The video shows Ueli Gegenschatz in “his utterly jawdropping flight in a wingsuit, a high-tech flying-squirrel-inspired getup that lets him soar as close as humanly possible to our shared dream of flight.”
Video clip of the wingsuit flight starts at 6:43
Such an amazing feeling to watch someone “fly”, but I never figured I’d be in a position to try it out myself, and so soon after watching that wingsuit joyride! To a lesser (and safer) degree of course, but still, I felt like I was superman just last week doing ziplines in Camp Sabros, Davao del Sur!
I was very lucky to have visited Camp Sabros with my good friend, Maan, who is so proud of her family’s retreathouse in the mountains–hands down one of the most beautiful places I’ve visited in the Philippines. Imagine waking up to Mt. Apo everyday, rappelling down a 100-ft treetop in the middle of a pinetree forest, and ziplining 820ft with only the wind separating you from the clouds and mountains and steep drop below! Definitely the closest I’ve come to flying..and to that wingsuit!
Camp Sabros is a quiet place that has heart, having begun as a private mountain resort for the Sacdalan family (“Sabros” is a play on “Sacdalan brothers”, for the five sons). While exploring the mountains of Davao del Sur in 1994, my friend’s uncle Edwin discovered a beautiful hilltop property with a captivating view of Mt. Apo and convinced the rest of the family to buy it. They built a simple log cabin for themselves, grinding their own coffee and enjoying bonfires while there was still no electricity. A yearly tradition was for each family member to plant pine trees, which eventually filled up the mountaintop (think daffodil principle!). It was only over a year ago that they opened ziplines to the public. Rooms in log cabins are also available for overnight guests.
Since then it has caught the attention of extreme sports enthusiasts, mountain climbers, barkadas, and even families (Maan rode the 380-meter zipline with her four-year-old son on her back!) out to have an adventure. Plans are underway for a mountain trail to the forest grounds, a much longer zipline (3km!) to rival the world’s longest, and even a Zorb ball that rolls down the hill:
Ziplining is safe, NOT SCARY, and quite addicting! Rates at Camp Sabros below:
More pictures at my multiply album.
Camp Sabros is in Barangay Kapatagan, Digos City, Davao del Sur. Other sites/blogs about it:
Pasyalera – June 2009
Travel and Leisures – Feb 2009
Dispatser sa Kanto – Feb 2008
Sunstar – Feb 2008
Blog Catalog
