We have safely returned from an adrenaline filled adventure at the gibbon experience - something I don't think either of us will ever forget.

The adventure began by packing ourselves into the back of a 4x4 truck and making our way deep into the Laos rainforest, this took an age and despite it being about 30 degrees we were both freezing because of the wind from the truck. After about two hours, having crossed rivers and dirt tracks we got out and hiked the final section - another two hours - this time we were a bit warmer given the 45 degree uphill terrain.

At this point we encountered our first zip wire - a small one in comparison to some, 400m in length, travelling about 40mph 100m above the valley below. We were both a bit nervous at first (some more than others, no names but it's a girl and she's welsh) but this soon passed after a few jumps and we became pro's at throwing ourselves off the end of the platform - as well as becoming pretty handy at breaking at the other end so we didn't hit the tree supporting the wire!

So after two hours of bumpy truck and two hours of exhausting trek we had about two further hours of zip wiring between valleys which was spectacular, each jump trumping the last until we were travelling about 1km in the sky over massive rivers and valleys below. At this point our treehouse was in sight, nailed to the top of a huge tree 100m above the ground. The treehouse had all we needed including beds, a kitchen, cold shower and even a toilet - which given that there were no walls had a great view of the rainforest beyond. We shared the treehouse with 3 other young couples from Australia and the USA, all very nice and interesting which was a bonus. After finishing our tea, which had been especially zip wired in, we all soon felt the exhaustion of the day and retired to our beds by about 8pm.

The following morning we got up just after dawn to look for gibbon with a former hunter, this was amazing as the rainforest mist had not cleared so we wire zip wiring through clouds not being able to see a thing (probably our highlight of the whole event). Unfortunately I think the group were all still half asleep and clumsy walking over the forest floor which scared the monkeys off, although we did get to hear them chatting.

After this we packed our bags and zip wired off on another adventure, this time stopping off at a waterfall to swim in for the afternoon. If you think it's cold back home, you should have tried dipping a toe in this water, never the less we popped in which was a mistake!!

After this we trekked for a while more, until we saw our second treehouse - not so impressive as the first but cool as it was within the tree canopy and a bit more hidden from view - which was a bonus when showering and using the bathroom!!

The rest of the afternoon was spent perfecting our zip wiring skills, trying to make our bodies aerodynamic so we could travel faster, and taking in more of the views. Unfortunately whilst having a good look around the valley I managed to catch my head on the wire and burn the top layer of skin off. Again this was a great day, with us managing to stay up a little later to chat with our fellow gibbon experiencers - which means we can now get free accommodation and food when we visit them in Melbourne!

After a short trek to take in the beauty of the area on the third day we returned to base camp which was a small village which could not have changed much in 200 years, very remote and packed with entertaining children who all wanted their photos taken.

After this we quickly drove back to civilisation and managed to cross the border to Thailand that evening to start our Christmas in Chang Mai one day early.