The heat was searing as I tried to conquer the simple looking Aerial Walk Challenge at the newly opened Sandbox at Alviera in Porac. It looked easy, but once I set foot on its obstacles, sweat started to pour from my body like there was no tomorrow.

ALVIERA SANDBOX IN PORAC

Sandbox at Alviera is the newest outdoor adventure park to hit the province of Pampanga.

Like its name suggests, it is a playground of sorts, but with a twist—the games here are really not all for kiddos. Dotting its thousand or so hectares are two sets of giant swings, a rappelling, climbing and free fall tower, an aerial walk complex, a roller coaster zipline, a pump-track for bikes, and an ATV station for a longer rides outside the complex.

►CHECK FOR AFFORDABLE HOTELS IN PORAC

Our 4x4 emerged from a cloud of dust and was eaten by a narrow gorge. We were rumbling through the lahar-laden wasteland east of Mt. Pinatubo, our destination a lone resort at the foot of one of the most destructive volcanoes of the 21st century.

Looping around North Luzon for a week, we have seen some pretty spectacular places and most of us were really not expecting much for the last day of the Lakbay Norte 3 tour, I mean what else can they throw at us? A whole lot more, as it turned out.

The jump off point to Puning Hot Spring is at Sapang Bato in Angeles City. Dubbed as Station One, it’s where we chose our 4x4’s. We piled on the back of the trucks and within minutes were racing across the road, passing Station Two and rumbling down the dusty landscapes of Porac.