Durban - Of all the activities that involve harnesses, helmets and great heights, ziplining is probably the easiest. You just need to be able to sit down and simply “hang”. For something that asks so little, the reward is sweet.
Karkloof Canopy Tours is about 90 minutes from Durban and about 15 minutes from Howick. With one friend in tow, and a boot full of food, we opted for a stay at one of the surrounding lodges, with a canopy tour set for the next morning.
The Rockwood Lodges are practically minutes away from the canopy tour, with four large cabins spread about the 3ha property.
Verdant grounds, grassy knolls, lush flora: the spectacular vista looks almost manicured and yet unspoiled all at once. Once you arrive, you’re asked to park your car and a staff member comes to pick you up in a 4x4. We had a lively woman named Jabu, who apologised for the bumpy ride ahead. Which it was.
Imagine a gravelly, winding road that dips and rises and crosses streams and potholes for about 10 minutes. But it’s all part of the fun, and I was quite taken by how much wilder the terrain became, and how the air went from sticky to crisp and icy in minutes.
Eventually, we reached a clearing, and a massive wooden cabin stood before us. It’s self-catering and a four-star establishment with comfy couches, large beds, cutlery, kitchen utensils, a flat-screen TV, Blu-Ray player, an iPod docking station, a fireplace, skylights in each of the three bathrooms, and an outdoor grill.
We even had a complimentary bottle of wine and two jars full of cookies. The cabin can easily sleep up to six adults, and is spacious enough to keep everyone happy.
At the back is a large raised deck that overlooks a stream.
Other accommodation options include an even larger cabin with your “own dam” or a picturesque stone cabin that looks like it belongs in the Karoo.
For the environmentally aware, there is a gas and solar powered cabin close to the Canopy Tours.
The house and cottage are on Spitzkop Farm about 25m apart, whereas Forest Lodge and Mountain Lodge are in the indigenous forest of the private Karkloof Nature Reserve, about 5km apart.
There are biking and hiking trails you can start from any of the lodges, all clearly marked. One even leads to a waterfall.
The guys at Rockwood work with Karkloof Canopy Tours and arranged everything for us. At 8am the next morning, we were picked up and driven to our car. From there, it took 15 minutes to get to the canopy tour.
There, we were greeted warmly by staff and introduced to one of the owners, a man named Kai who looks like he would win Survivor.
He says scientists needed a less invasive way of studying animals in their environment and that led to a series of ziplines in Costa Rica before it became a tourist adventure opportunity.
Kai now sees more than 100 000 people a year, from small children to 90-year-olds on the tour. The only restriction in what he calls a a “soft extreme sport” seems to be no one over 130kg.
After a quick coffee, we head to the briefing room where we sign indemnity forms and view a short video on safety guidelines.
We were somewhat distracted by the part showing a man leaping off platforms and falling from a great height at dizzying speeds.
Since it was too late to turn back, we let ourselves be strapped into our harnesses, put on the helmets, got in the bakkie and arrived minutes later at a small clearing to hike up a hill.
At the top is a wooden perch and about 20 metres away is a second. Here you are meant to do a test run, see how it feels and decide if you can continue. It’s only a little scary the first time, but once you’re off the deck and in the air you’re already at the next perch. It’s that quick.
And once you’re there, you realise two things: one, that you are really high up and, two, there is no turning back. I know this because the name of the next zipline is “No Turning Back”.
But this is also where it can become the kind of fun that demands screaming. The next zipline is significantly lengthier, higher and, as a result, faster. You have the option of braking, using a leather-clad hand to grasp the cable, but there are also braking devices in play should you forget or be unable to brake in time.
There are eight lines, covering just over a kilometre, strategically placed so you end up seeing as much as your eyes can take in. One of the longest leads to a sky-high bird’s-eye view of a waterfall, where it is exhilarating to stand, so high above everything, and be able to drink pure mountain water.
Some ziplines are tricky. You have to manoeuvre yourself to a certain spot before letting go of the brakes and going for the freefall. Others feature a sheer vertical drop and one or two feature gradual declines, allowing you to zipline in cruise mode.
Throughout the adventure, the guides help you and points out interesting bits about trees and birds. One man follows you with a camera, trying to get riveting action shots, and presents you with a CD of images at the end.
When you reach the final zipline, you can still feel the rush. Your heart beats a little faster and the birdsound seems to call you back.
At the office, you are rewarded with a toasted sandwich of your choice and your finished CD.
I had achat with Kai, who said he had great plans: potential bird watching tours; night-time ziplines; expanding the ziplines; a possible treehouse coffee shop.
That’s on top of the school tours, team-building events and specialised tours. Kai’s eyes light up like a kid in a candy store when he talks. It seems like he was born to do this.
http://www.rockwood.co.za
http://www.biggreenegg.co.za - Sunday Tribune