Adventure camp rises in Porac sandscape

THE AERIAL walk challenge is a high-rope adventure course of nets and rope walkways. The aerial walk features a series of activities that will test a person’s agility, balance and flexibility. E.I. REYMOND T. OREJAS/INQUIRER CENTRAL LUZON

PORAC, Philippines—The tallest swing in the Philippines, the first roller coaster zipline in the country, an exhilarating aerial walk and more field sports are in one outdoor adventure camp in this town in Pampanga province.

Called Sandbox and carved out of the sand-scape that formed after Mt. Pinatubo’s 1991 eruptions, the 2-hectare getaway spells play and fun, summer or not.

“It is being developed gradually, just enough to entice people,” Karry Asuncion, designer and builder of Sandbox, told reporters on Saturday.

More than 300 people packed the place ahead of the April 12  opening. For that launch, a package of adventure costs P600, which includes passes to a concert of Bamboo and a food bazaar.

The 10-meter-tall swing allows two people for a side-by-side ride.

John Estacio, general manager of Alviera, a township project of Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) in Porac town where Sandbox operates, said the roller coaster zipline veered away from the usual ride.

“This one moves you to the left, right, up and down,” he said.

The aerial walk provides an obstacle course on a high rope while the 15-meter-tall Adventure Tower is good for wall climbing, rappelling and free fall.

Challenging courses await bikers and drivers of all-terrain vehicles.

A children’s playground features a safe slide and wide space for kite-flying.

The place is friendly for walking or for breakfast picnics. But the heat can be punishing at past 10 a.m., which makes the planting of trees, grasses and other plants necessary, Estacio said.

The Zambales mountain ranges west of Sandbox beckon but the camp could only develop bike trails there since the foothills are not part of the 1,125-ha Alviera to which Sandbox belongs, said Jennifer Chua, Alviera marketing associate manager.

The Aeta, an indigenous tribe of people around Mt. Pinatubo, do come on occasion to teach survival techniques in the forests.

Sandbox is primed as a “destination for families, health buffs and adventure seekers,”  Estacio said.

Chua said Alviera was similar to Nuvali, an ALI estate in Sta. Rosa City in Laguna province.

Aside from residential areas, Alviera will have commercial and industrial parks that complement the nearby Clark and Subic free ports.

Alviera is five minutes past the Porac interchange of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway. It can also be reached via the Manila North Road (MacArthur Highway) through the FVR Megadike in the City of San Fernando in Pampanga.  Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon