Cape Town: Adrenalin Sports
It is easy to fixate on the obvious in Cape Town: the obvious in this case being the rare physical beauty of the city; the clean, buffeting winds; the culture and sophistication; the food, the wine and the music, and the simple ambience of calm and relaxation that washes up on almost every shore. However, with jagged peaks in every direction, with two oceans and hundreds of miles of coastline, the opportunity for thrill seekers and adrenalin junkies to work their particular junk muscles is almost unlimited.
Cape Town: South Africa’s Travel Shop
Cape Town is arguably the gravitational centre of all things travel related in South Africa, and probably has more destination options in one metropolitan area than almost any other city in the world. And what you cannot see and do in Cape Town you can book and organise, hence the bewildering number of tour operators and booking agents who jostle for bandwidth among the hundred and thousands of tourist that flock to the city every year. Here are just a few of the options, and few of the operators that will do it for you.
Sea Kayaking: Simon’s Town Sea Kayaking offers a two hour guided trip to Boulders Beach and a more strenuous five hour version to Cape Point.
Shark Cage Diving: The town of Gansbaai 150km south-east of Cape Town is perhaps the world cage diving Mecca where sighting of great white sharks are almost guaranteed. Marine Dynamics operates a two hour trip inclusive of all equipment and a light lunch. East coast cage diving has begun to achieve an international reputation, and is one of the absolute must do trips if you are planning a visit to South Africa.
Abseiling & Climbing: The sheer precipices off the leading face of the Berg simply scream climbing and abseiling, and indeed Table Mountain is the worlds highest commercial abseil. Abseil Africa is the outfit to call.
Kitesurfing: With the ubiquitous cape southeaster what could make more sense than a day of kitesurfing. Langebaan lagoon situated north of Cape Town offers ideal conditions, although there are many potential sites along the coast. Cape Sports Centre is the outfit to contact to arrange a trip or seek advice.
Sky Diving: A perennial venture sport, Go Sky Dive of Cape Town operates a drop zone just outside Cape Town offering both solo and tandem dives.
Canyoning: Smalblaar Canyon in the Du Toit’s Kloof Mountains just outside Cape Town is the local venue for canyoning and kloofing, best done with adventure company Frixon. Here all kinds of adventures angles are explored.
Sailing & Diving: For Hobie Cat trips and a selection of dive options Drum Africa based in Fish Hoek is the outfit to contact.
Riding: The wide expanses of Noordhoek Beach are an obvious venue for beach riding. Sleepy Hollow Horse Riding offers a excellent 2 hour beach ride.
Paragliding: Para-Taxi is the local one-stop for tandem flights in and around Cape Town lasting between 10 and 20 minutes, depending on the weather. Helicopter tours and skydiving are also booked.
Image: Flickr – Thanks Mark Stodel…it looks like fun!
More Cape Town:
A Brief History Hiking & Walking Trails Cultural Sites & Museums Beaches Golf Courses Health & Wellness Festivals & Venues Food & Wine