South Africa’s tourism landscape goes beyond the typical big 5 conversation and sightseeing adventures.
While both offer magical experiences, there’s more. For thrill-seekers, South Africa delivers a whole menu of adrenaline-fueled adventures.
Our geography includes everything from beautiful coastlines, incredible mountains, vast deserts and Karoo. This diverse geography inspires a long list of adventures you won’t find anywhere else in the world.
They aren’t your typical touristy activities. They’re wild, engaging adventures that will leave you with stories to tell for years.
Table of content
Canopy Ziplining Adventures
Ziplining appeals deeply to our inner child. Climbing in a playground, sliding down and flying through the air, with the wind in your hair. It’s no wonder it has become quite popular around the world and in South Africa.
Our indigenous and beautiful natural environment makes it an even more thrilling experience. In South Africa, it’s a bucket list favorite.
- Imagine flying through old giant trees, 30 meters above the forest floor, in the heart of a rainforest. If this sounds like an experience you don’t want to pass up, then the Tsitsikamma Canopy Tour is for you.
- Mossel Bay Zipline offers the longest-over-the-ocean zipline in the world.
- Sun City (Unreal – Zip Slide 2000) offers 2km of adrenaline pumping zipline rides that’ll blow your mind. Can be done with alone or with a partner in tandem.
- Skyway aerial cable trail. Located near Kruger, lets you add ziplining to your safari excursion.
- Drakensburg Canopy tour offers a good mix of rock face trails and forest ziplining.
Best vehicles for your Ziplining adventure
💡These parks and locations could be located on uneven or gravel forest roads. SUVs or 4×4s are recommended for comfort and access.
Sandboarding
Sandboarding is like snowboarding except that it’s done on sand dunes. If you’re a frequent snowboarder and want to see how sandboarding compares, this is perfect for you.
It can be enjoyed anytime of the year and isn’t dependent on the season.
In South Africa you can find these dunes in the coastal and desert/karoo areas.
- Go sandboarding on the Atlantic dune white sands in a half-a-day adventure package. This adventure starts with the basics – standing up to keeping your balance.
- Go Sandboarding on the Dragon dune in mossel bay, the biggest and longest sandboard ride in SA.
Best vehicles for your Sandboarding adventures:
💡Most sandboarding experiences are done in groups. So an SUV or Van would be perfect for your group to travel to the dune location.
White Water Rafting or river rafting
White water rafting or river rafting is the sport of using inflatable rafts to navigate a river. The term white-water describes fast flowing water hitting rapids, becoming turbulent and aerated.
They are sometimes used interchangeably, but river rafting can be calm or turbulent. For beginners, you should start with the simple and calm experiences (referred to as class 1).
With class 1, you can ease into it and learn how to navigate obstacles and simple turbulence.
As you gain experience and confidence you can take on tougher rapid filled routes.
- Get an easy intro to river-rafting in Hartbeespoort.
- Enjoy an exciting day of river-rafting and conquer rapids in the resort town of Parys on the Vaal River.
- Take on the Tugela River, the largest river in KwaZulu-Natal. Choose from a variety of options, from gentle to rough & gnarly.
Best vehicles for your rafting adventures
💡The roads out to the river camps are rough gravel, so get a sturdy 4×4 or SUV for the trip.
Cave Exploration
Switch it up from above ground tours to darker, narrow passages and tight squeezes.
- The most famous cave system is the Cango Caves, in Oudtshoorn. This cave exploration tour offers many options. From walk-through tours to explorations that’ll have you crawling on your belly sometimes. adventure.
- Sudwala Caves in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, is a 30 km long, 3 billiion years old cave system. This cave is rich in history, with the battle for the Swazi throne said to have been fought at the entrance of the cave. The cave is named after the victor of the war who then became the leader/head of the tribe, Sudwala.
- Abseil into the roofs of the wild cave system in the Cradle of Humankind in Krugersdorp.
- The Lone Creek Cave in Sabie offers a thrilling experience. Here, you can choose your intensity. It offers everything from muddy tunnels, dark crevices, and expansive chambers.
ATV Quad Biking Through Wine Country (Western Cape)
Experience the pleasure of zooming through sand dunes or vineyards on a 4-wheeler bike.
- The white sands of the Atlantic sand dunes are a perfect backdrop on this adventure ride. The bikes are electric, making them noiseless. And this increases your chance of seeing wildlife on your ride.
- Combine the thrill of Quad-biking in SA’s wine region and winetasting. During harvest time (Feb to Apr), you also get to glimpse into the wine making process.
Best vehicles for your quad biking adventures
💡High clearance 4×4 or SUV for dirt roads and farm access.
Bungee Jumping
Bungee jumping has taken the world by storm. So what better place to test your limit than in South Africa, home to the highest commercial bungee in the world?
- The Bloukrans bridge bungee jump is the highest in the world. With 216 km of freefall to push your limit, the operators also offer zipline and skywalk. Giving you the opportunity to experience 3 bucket list adventures in one go.
- The Orlando towers in Soweto offer a 100m bungee jump in Joburg. The towers are iconic and very recognisable with their street art.
Best vehicles for your Bungee Jumping experience
💡Van for large groups, compact SUVs for smaller groups.
Kloofing and Coasteering adventures
Kloofing uses a mix of hiking, swimming, climbing and abseiling to go down a river gorge. Also called canyoneering, it’s more technical and adventurous than a simple hike. This is because it requires navigational, route-finding and other outdoor skills.
Coasteering is like kloofing but done along the coastline instead of a river. You explore the coastline by snorkeling, swimming, and rock jumping through inter-tidal zones.
- Suicide Gorge: Open 1st Nov to 30th Apr offers extreme kloofing experience with jumps up to 14m. You must be fit to attempt this experience. This is because it involves hours of hiking, swimming and jumping. Be ready to get wet and mucky in this experience.
- Tsitsikamma, Plettenberg Bay with Blackwater Tubing. Offers waterfalls, black pools and forest tunnels. You’ll make it down the waterway by swimming, jumping down waterfalls as well as floating on tubes.
- Gravity adventures offer Coasteering experiences near Cape Town.
- Coasteering experiences are also offered in Simon’s Town by adventure shop.
Best vehicles to go kloofing or coasteering
💡A sturdy van or camper with space to load your gears.
Multi-Day Horse Trails
Saddle up and explore South Africa on horseback. There’s no better way to unplug than with a few days away on a horseback.
- Overberg Trails offers a 3 or 5 days beach and mountain ride. This trail takes you through Beach, fynbos-covered mountains, dunes and whale sanctuary.
- Paarl valley offers a beautiful view of the Table mountain, wine stops, a view of the Swartberg farms. You can customise your ride to include meals, wine and olive tasting.
- Amathole Mountains: A 4-day cultural and nature trail from Terra-Khaya Lodge. This ride takes you through forests, escarpments, waterfalls, covering around 85 km on horseback.
Mountain Adventure Camps
Enjoy a mix of fresh mountain air, great views, soaking in nature, hiking or MTB tails.
- AfriCamps @ De pahhuys (Cerderberg). Enjoy a mix of rockland trails, rock pools and Sans rock art on this adventure camping trip in Cerderberg.
- Africamps Champagne Valley Glamping (Drakensberg): Become one with nature. Enjoy glamping tents with hearting and cooling, private wood-fired tubs and braai.
Best vehicles for your mountain camping adventure
💡Part of the farm in Cederberg and the Drakensberg need off-road 4×4 for mountain access.
Practical Information
Best Times to Visit:
- Western Cape adventures: October-April for warm weather
- Drakensberg activities: October-April for best conditions
- Orange River rafting: April-September for cooler temperatures
- Year-round activities: Sandboarding, cave exploration, wine country quad biking
Physical Requirements:
- Coasteering: Basic swimming ability required
- Sandboarding: Suitable for all fitness levels
- Ziplining: Ages 6+ with some weight restrictions
- Kloofing: Good fitness and swimming ability essential
- Bungee jumping: Health restrictions might apply.
What to Pack:
- Sun protection and comfortable clothing
- Closed-toe shoes for most activities
- Swimwear for water-based adventures
- Warm layers for mountain activities
- Camera to capture the beautiful scenery
Booking Tips:
- Reserve popular activities well in advance
- Package deals often offer significant savings
- Some activities need you to book in group or you might get added to a different group.
- Weather can affect schedules – build flexibility into plans
- Professional operators provide all specialized equipment
