Southern Africa can be a wild part of the world and the opportunity for adventure is everywhere. From heart pounding adrenalin to more sophisticated adventuring, here are a few our favourite experiences for those of you that are looking for something to get the heart beating slightly faster!
At the end of the world famous Garden Route, above the storms river gorge and near the popular holiday town of Plettenberg Bay, lies the Guiness World Record certified Highest Bungee Jump In The World! At 216m the Bloukrans Bungy Jump is pretty intimidating but something everyone needs to do at least once! The bottom of the gorge is far far below you and standing on the edge getting ready to jump is an experience I cannot describe to anyone who hasn't been there, but I guarantee you it will be one of the most exhilarating experiences of your life!
Cape Town is famous for offering cage diving trips with Great White sharks. For those of you who don't know much about cage diving, it involves going out by boat into an area that has a large population of Great White sharks. Once out in the bay, a cage is lowered into the water which guests climb into and get a full underwater view of these incredible creatures. The operators are the focus of an ongoing debate between people very pro and very anti them. However, if you go a little bit up the coast to the Kwazulu Natal town of Umkomaas, a completely different experience awaits you. Here you have the opportunity to dive in the open ocean with black tip and tiger sharks. You need to be a comfortable PADI certified diver to take part. Being in the open ocean surrounding by 30-40 sharks, a couple of which are tigers, one of the most feared predators in the ocean and realising that they are not terribly interested in you give you a new understanding of the beauty and grace of these incredible creatures
The northern half of the Namibian coastline is one of the few remaining true wilderness areas on our planet and it is breathtakingly beautiful. So-called because of the many shipwrecks that have littered the beaches over the years, The Skeleton Coast also bears witness to huge whale bones and enormous seal colonies and inland there’s elusive desert elephant to track down as well as many desert-adapted antelope. Because of the enormity of the area and harshness of the landscape, the best way to experience it is by plane. Flying at “see-level” you’ll cross ancient rock formations, wide open plains dotted with zebra and oryx and look down on ghostly shipwrecks buried in the sand where the desert meets the sea. This is a truly luxurious way to experience Africa and a must do for anyone who appreciates unique experiences.
Camp Jabulani is home to unforgettable elephant back safari’s and is an extraordinary sanctuary not only for its guests but for the adopted elephants that live there. Camp Jabulani is the place for people who like their adventure a little bit more elegant with the camp having an incredibly luxurious and homely feel to it. Then there are the elephants. If you have any sort of special affection or connection with these gorgeous creatures, then this is the place for you. They were rescued from terrible conditions in a wildlife sanctuary and Jabulani was created to support these vulnerable creatures as well as to share the incredible experience of interacting with elephants with the rest of the world.
Victoria Falls is a stunning place. Not least because of the change that takes place from above the falls to the gorge below. A relaxed, peaceful, meandering river above the falls, the Zambezi very rapidly becomes a different beast as it tumbles down into the gorge below. The Batoka gorge is home to some of the largest commercially rafted whitewater in the world and if you want to get the adrenalin pumping, this is where to do it. As you walk down the steep path that leads to rapid number one where you will join your professional guides in 8 man rafts, the roar of the river becomes so loud that you have to shout to be heard. A great day out in Africa!