• Discover Yourself in South Africa
• A Thousand Memories
• iExplore South Africa

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South Africa Adventure

Getting up-close and personal with lions and rhinos and such not enough of a thrill for you? South Africa offers an array of adventure options ranging from no-experience-necessary activities such as hot-air ballooning, sandboarding and shark diving, to extreme sports including bungee jumping and rapelling. Because of South Africa’s year-round sunny weather, most people can participate in the following 10 top adventure activities throughout the year.

Shark cage diving

There is no doubt that South Africa is one o the best destinations in the world for shark cage diving—getting up close and personal with the Great Whites. No scuba training or experience is necessary and the operator provides all equipment including wetsuits and masks. Rest assured the sturdy cages are tethered to the sides of the boat and never float free. You’ll be thrilled as sharks glide close by the cage again and again, occasionally bumping it as they pass. The Western Cape Province is home to the three most popular locations for white shark cage-diving:

• False Bay, about 30 minutes from Cape Town and also home to a seal colony.
• Seal Island in Mossel Bay with its beautiful blue waters.
• Shark Alley, the channel between the Dyer Island seal colony and the mainland at Gansbaai, near Hermanus.

Surfing

There are dozens of prime surfing spots within an hour’s drive of Cape Town, as well as along Durban’s famous “Golden Mile” (a three-mile stretch of beaches). Dedicated surfers should try the excellent “supertube” waves at Jeffrey’s Bay or head to Cape St. Francis, where the makers of the cult surfing film Endless Summer found “the perfect wave.” Hartebeespoort Dam, a half-hour drive from Johannesburg, is a popular weekend spot for inland water sports lovers.

Sandboarding

Sandboarding has become a major sporting activity in some parts of South Africa and is extremely popular near Cape Town and in the Eastern Cape. Here you can slide your feet into a sandboard (a modified snowboard) and head down steep, snow-white sand dune slopes. The equipment and techniques of sandboarding are similar to snowboarding. It’s fun in its own right and also a good — as well as warm and dry — way to learn snowboarding. Among the popular venues for sandboarding is Betty’s Bay, about an hour’s drive from Cape Town, where you can also enjoy whale watching, surfing, diving and hiking.

Canoeing

If you’re most at home in a boat, South Africa’s fantastic rivers and lakes will ensure that you’ll be spoiled for choice. Here is just a small sampling:

• The Orange River is a long, green-fringed oasis running through the mountainous desert area of Northern Cape known as the Richtersveld, all the way to the border with Namibia.
• The Vaal River, a tributary of the Orange not far from Johannesburg, has gentle rapids, for those who prefer a more laid-back ride.
• The Palmiet River in the Western Cape, runs through the Kogelberg Nature Reserve and has fantastic rapids and wonderful scenery.
• In KwaZulu-Natal, take an escorted trip through the spectacularly beautiful and biologically unique Kosi Bay lake system.
• The Blyde River in Mpumalanga, one of the most beautiful rivers in South Africa, has a challenging section with a steep gradient and a tamer part for an easier ride.

Quad cruising

With year-round great weather, spectacular outdoor scenery and a diverse variety of habitats, South Africa is a perfect playground for quad biking enthusiasts. There are over 60 different trails to experience, and a good selection of these also offer quad bikes for rent along with helmets. In South Africa you can ride in wildlife reserves, through the winelands, along the coast, up mountains and past waterfalls – the possibilities are almost endless, with enticing trails in each of the nine provinces.

Bungee jumping

South Africa’s Eastern Cape is home to the highest commercial bungee jump in the world — from the Blaauwkrans Bridge on the Storms River, about 25 miles east of Plettenberg Bay. The 591-foot freefall will take you just seven seconds, but the rush may well last a lifetime.

Because of the distance of the drop, regular ankle straps are replaced with a body harness. If you’re not quite ready for that, you can opt for a bungee jump off the 212-foot-high Gouritz River Bridge, 21 miles outside the Western Cape town of Mossel Bay. It’s an ideal spot for first-time jumpers and tandem jumps. Both bridges are situated along the scenic Garden Route.

Rappelling

Rappelling, known to South Africans as abseiling, is an extreme sport popular in many areas of South Africa. Only the most experienced rappellers will be up for the challenge (and adrenaline rush) of Graskop Gorge in Mpumalanga, the world’s highest cable gorge swing with a 220-foot freefall. It’s similar to a bungee jump, except that you are strapped to a sitting harness and will reach 100 mph in 2.3 seconds. Among other options:

• Table Mountain in Cape Town offers a thrilling descent with spectacular views.
• Storms River Gorge is one of the most scenic abseiling venues in the country.
• Hartebeespoort Dam in North West province is a good place for beginners, offering a 130-foot abseil down a cliff.
• Krugersdorp’s Kings Kloof Bridge in Gauteng offers a unique 160-foot helicopter abseil, so-called because there is no rock face to rappel against. The bridge is also used for bungee jumping.

Treetopping

The Canopy Tour on the Garden Route is among the most sophisticated and most popular treetopping experiences in the world. The fully escorted trek consists of donning a state-of-the-art full-body harness and gilding over on a steel cable from one tree platform to the next, affording incredible views of the Eastern Cape’s Tsitsikamma Forest and its variety of birds and other wildlife. The Tsitsikamma Canopy Tour consists of eight platforms and nine cable slides, the longest of which is over 260 feet. It takes about three hours to complete this journey of a lifetime.

Hot-air ballooning

There is nothing to beat the experience of slowly floating above the African bushveld in a hot-air balloon. There are two excellent operations in the Magaliesberg and Crocodile River Valley areas near Johannesburg. Escape the city before dawn and watch the sun rise from high up as you toast the new day with a sip of sparkling wine. You could also enjoy a game-viewing flight at Pilanesberg, near Sun City, or a scenic flight at Hazyview in Mpumalanga. In summer (December through February), you can also fly over the beautiful Paarl vineyards, near Cape Town.

Microlighting

Microlights are two-person mini-aircraft that can take you gliding over majestic mountains or soaring above stunning scenery, providing a unique and thrilling way to view wildlife in their natural habitat. Not for the faint of heart, this increasingly popular adventure is offered by qualified pilots and instructors in just about every province of South Africa. For more information on these and other adventure activities, visit www.southafrica.net/active.

Hiking

There is no better way to experience wild places than to put your hiking boots on and head for the hills. South Africa has many excellent, scenic hiking trails. Here is a taste of only a few of those on offer.

The Drakensberg

In the province of KwaZulu-Natal, the country’s major mountain range and another World Heritage Site, the Drakensberg (Dragon Mountains) run for about 115 miles along the border with Lesotho. Rising over 9.845 feet, here hiking can be a challenge to the fittest. Guided walks are conducted through high valleys with dramatic peaks and waterfalls.

The Otter Trail

This scenic trail along the Tsitsikamma coast is probably the most popular hike in the country. Lush forests, rugged shorelines, mountain streams and waterfalls and fragrant fynbos make this a really special hiking trail.

The Dolphin Trail

If you want the scenery and walking with a bit less slog and a lot more luxury, you should try the Dolphin Trail. It traverses similar terrain to the Otter Trail (in fact if joins up with it) but instead of staying in hiking huts, you stay in fully catered guest-houses with all the little luxuries and excellent cuisine.

Wild Coast

Hiking along the Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape is another popular option. Once part of the nominally independent Transkei, this coast is the epitome of untouched natural beauty. Very different to Tsitsikamma, the coast is characterized by miles of deserted beaches, dotted by small communities.

Walking Safaris

Seeing big animals from the security of a safari vehicle is extremely exciting, but it is nothing compared to standing on your own two feet, deep in the bush, and getting a close-up view of a black rhino…or an elephant, giraffe, zebra or impala.

All walking safaris in South Africa are undertaken under the direct supervision of armed rangers and trackers. The most popular areas for wilderness trails are the game parks of KwaZulu-Natal and the Kruger National Park, there is a choice of different trails, each with assigned guides.