With its 154 acre land mass, Loterie farm provides an out door adventure for the novice trooper as well as for the extreme enthusiasts. It is located on the French side of the Island about ten minutes drive from the French Capital of Marigot.

The name Loterie Farm is suggestive. There's an old story that the owner had acquired the land in a lottery. I'll let you ask about that when you get there. It makes for interesting conversation so I won’t want to take that away from you.

Of course the reason for me being there in the first place was to see first hand what the rest of the world seemed to be raving about. I've been on property on several occasions just for a private hike with some friends.

This time I had no choice. I had to do the EXTREME fly zone.

In the pass Loterie Farm offered an introductory zip line course that even the most skeptical visitor would do.

They have recently expanded into the mountains and over the canopy of mango, palm and other familiar tropical trees.

The course literally takes you for a 1 1/2 hr tour of nonstop EXTREME flying action through the mountain side.

Once checked in you're geared up, boarded onto the transportation and off to the top of the mountain for last minute instructions.

Oh by the way, one of the resident dogs there will chase the truck to the top of the mountain to the starting point and invite you to play a game of fetch :-)

I almost froze when I saw what we'd be doing but after the demonstration of safety instructions by the knowledgeable tour guide I calmed down quite a bit.

My group seemed to display an unending display of excitement throughout the entire course as we zipped and yelled like the St Kitts green monkey through and over the canopy of foliage. There was a constant up, down and across rhythm that kept us busy on the cables, suspended bridges and ladders.

I gazed down on several occasions and thought proud of myself as I finally did it. All I needed then was a pair of wings. Traveling at that speed and height with the breeze rushing pass you reveals a slight glimpse of what birds experience.

Besides the Fly zone there are guided trails that lead to the top of Pik Paradis, St Martin's highest point of 1400 FT.

There's also Ti Tarzan and a ‘Tapas’ restaurant at base camp with its friendly staff to assist you. There's something for everyone to do.

I've been told that there are plans to extend Loterie Farm's current course to a full three hours. So pack your bags and get here as soon as you can.

I'm not very adventurous and I promise never to bungee jump. However, I'll do the EXTREME fly zone at loterie farm again in a heartbeat.

Thanks to the ingenious minds at Loterie Farm, I was able to get another great story for visitors to this site and to the Island in general.

Don't leave the Island unless you do this one. This one breaks the scales at 10+.

Contact Loterie Farm:

Rte. de Pic du ParadisPhone: (0590) 87.86.16From the U.S. dial: 011-590-590-87.86.16