On a recent, chilly evening, I looked up and saw more stars than I ever had in the Florida sky. I was 45 feet above the ground and my heart was racing. Then, I stepped off my platform into an inky abyss. I could barely see the glimmer of a swamp below. Attached to a harness and a cable, I flew through the forest to the next platform. The hum of the zipline and the occasional night bird were the only sounds in my ears. This was no Central Florida theme park ride — it was a starlight zipline tour on a ranch south of Orlando. For a weekend, my husband and I trekked around the area in search of a wild Florida, away from the manicured and manufactured. The greater Orlando area is well-known for the obvious: sprawling strip malls, chain eateries and, of course, enormous theme parks promising fun and adventure. At some point, you may get sick of the parks. Tired of rollercoasters. Can't take another cartoon character. It's time to get wild and get off the well-worn tourist path. There are plenty of possibilities. From the starlight zipline tour to waterskiing to off-road safaris both motorized and hoofed, there's much more to the area than most tourists ever dream of. A good, low-key beginning is a hike through a very different kind of Disney park. Located in Kissimmee, 25 miles south from Walt Disney World, the Disney Wilderness Preserve is a 12,000-acre park owned and managed by the Nature Conservancy. Other than bathrooms and a few picnic tables, there are no amenities here — unless you count the vast swaths of green and gold saw palmetto foliage, flanked by majestic cypress domes. There is no admittance fee to the preserve — it's by donation only — and there is a small stand with flyers and maps, telling you where to hike and what you'll see along the way. The wilderness trail can be broken up into an easy, 2.45-mile hike or an easier 1-mile stroll. Because it's Florida, the trail is flat — but because it's Florida, it also means that the trail may be wet, so wear proper shoes (leave the flip-flops in the car). We sidestepped the muddy areas and concentrated instead on the sound of the wind fluttering through the longleaf pines. We were there on a Saturday, and aside from a couple and their baby in a stroller, we had the place to ourselves. A little more than a half-mile in, we detoured onto a spur to picnic near Lake Russell. It's a rarity in central Florida, because it's one of the few lakes that has no development along its shoreline. As we munched on our sandwiches, we admired the Spanish moss dripping from the trees and read about how the lake is actually the headwater of the Everglades, and its water flows some 200 miles to the south. Our next stop took us 45 miles southeast to St. Cloud, where an eco-ranch named Forever Florida is nestled among cattle ranches and orange groves. This 4,700 acre property offers coach safaris, camping, ranch esperiences, horseback rides and zipline tours. We chose the latter two — a one-hour horseback ride and a “starlight” zipline tour. Our leader was a guy named Turkey Creek Gary, a self-proclaimed cowboy complete with Wrangler jeans, spurs and a gun nestled in a hip holster. Gary led our group of five and our horses down a dusty trail and into the thick woods. And into the water. The horses dutifully waded belly-deep into a river, and Gary told us that this was a similar trek taken by early Florida explorers. Gary reassured us that alligators in the river wouldn't attack our horses; in fact, the only alligator we saw was at the end of our tour, when we spotted a two-foot baby gator sunning himself in the fading daylight. Most folks are familiar with the zipline tours in Central America and other destinations, where you glide past treetops attached to a harness, pulley and cable. Forever Florida's tours are similar, except that we opted to do the nighttime zipline instead (daytime tours are available as well). There are seven ziplines and two suspension bridges on this tour; you can soar at speeds of up to 25 mph on the longer lines. Even though I had zipped through trees in both Costa Rica and Nicaragua, I felt a pang of anxiety as I climbed the first platform, a four-story structure, in the dark. With no development nearby, there is no light pollution as in other places in Florida — and the thought of stepping off the platform into the darkness was just a tad unsettling. With the help of my guide, I pushed off the platform and into the darkness. By the time I reached the next platform the only thing that hurt were my cheeks, from grinning so hard. The next morning, we drove to Clermont, a small town north of Walt Disney World. We passed by several fresh fruit stands — mostly tomatoes, oranges and strawberries — because we had a reservation at Revolution Off Road. Run by Kevin Jowett, a former rally car racer from the U.K. and his wife, Revolution offers ATV, dune buggy and 4X4 adventures on his large property. There's also a lake where a Canadian watersports pro gives waterskiing and wakeboarding lessons. It was a bit too cold for watersports so we opted for the ATV safari. Kevin fitted us with helmets, gloves and goggles and explained how to be safe while on the machines. While my husband was excited about racing off into the woods, I was a bit more hesitant, mostly because I've read my fair share of ATV horror stories. But Kevin soothed my fears, and said I could go as slow as I needed to feel comfortable. He put us through a training course, where we practiced turning and braking. Then we headed onto a trail that wound through the property, past lakes and pines. I started to feel more comfortable and pressed the gas lever with my thumb a little harder. About 15 minutes later as I powered through a puddle — spraying my ATV and myself with mud — I began to wonder if I was the Danica Patrick of four-wheelers. Disney Wilderness Preserve 2700 Scrub Jay Trail, Kissimmee, Fla., http://www.nature.org or 407-935-0005. Admission by donation. Wear comfortable walking or hiking shoes for the 2.45-mile loop; bring water, sunscreen and bug spray. Open 9 A.M.-5 P.M. Forever Florida 4755 N. Kenansville Road, St. Cloud, Fla., http://www.foreverflorida.com or 866-854-3837. Tours vary by cost; a zipline safari and a horseback adventure is $110. Revolution Off Road Experience 4000 State Road 33, Clermont, Fla., http://www.revolutionoffroad.com or 352-400-1316. Price varies by tour; two-and-a-half-hour ATV experience costs $65.
