Tsitsikamma is world famous for its adventure activities and the zipline tour at Tsitsikamma Falls Adventures is definitely my favourite.
Essentially, think of a zipline or canopy tour as a twenty-first century foefie slide. However, it is faster, safer, longer and a lot scarier than the old wire-across-the-river-and-jump-before-you-hit-the-pole type of fun!
What, you may ask, is the difference between a canopy tour and a zipline? Well, on the basics they are very similar. There is a long steel cable that slopes from one end to the other and the adventurer, using a well-oiled pulley, rides the length of the wire while attached to the pulley by a harness. Yip, upper body strength is no longer required.
Also, in both cases, a huge amount of attention is given to safety and to the location of the cabling. The scenery in every one of the canopy tours and ziplines featured in our article is beautiful.
The big differentiator is that canopy tours are part of an international association that focus on environmental sustainability. This does not mean that other zipline operators are not environmentally aware, in fact far from it, but canopy tour operators have a very strict code of conduct that they follow.
What you need to know about Tsitsikamma Falls Adventures
Number of Routes: 8 | Longest Route: 211m | Highest Route: 50m
Max Speed: Varies person to person
Duration: From 45min (2 people) to 1.5 hours (group of 10)
Just an hour and a half’s drive from Port Elizabeth, on the N2, Tsitsikamma Falls Adventures is easy to locate and perfect for a single day’s outing. My friends and I recently decided to drive down to Tsitsikamma for a fun, adrenalin-filled Saturday.
The guys at Tsitsikamma Falls Adventures place your safety above everything else and before we knew it, we were harnessed and helmeted – ready for action.
Two knowledgeable, helpful and experienced guides accompanied us to ensure we had have fun while being safe – otherwise most of us would not know how to work all the various harness clips, clasps, loops, locks and straps. I made sure I was the first to take a ride across the river, so that I could catch my friends’ crazy expressions on my camera as they approach the platform during their first ride.
What a wild ride!
Truly, nothing comes close to zipping across the rushing waters of the Kruis River and its beautiful waterfalls. The first few rides are slow and short, but increase in length and speed as you progress down the river.
The seventh ride, the highest at 50m and the longest at 211m, entails climbing out of the gorge and taking a more leisurely trip back towards the starting point. By the time you get to the eighth ride, you are more relaxed and can enjoy the scenery. Back at the starting point, we removed our ziplining gear and enjoyed some refreshments from the restaurant.
Tsitsikamma Falls Adventures operate in all weather conditions, 365 days a year. Rain suites are provided when necessary and children from the age of three years are allowed to partake in this fun-filled activity.
This was probably one of my favourite adventure activities of all time and I can strongly recommend it to adrenalin seekers, young and old. For more information, call 042 280 3770, email tsitsikammafalls@lantic.net or visit www.tsitsikammaadventure.co.za.I
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