Suspended by a high-tech carabiner 110 m above a steep-sided canyon, hurtling along at 60 km/h on a cable only as thick as your thumb, heading straight for a rock face on the other side of the gorge with only a leather glove and friction as your brake system… Sound like fun to you? Hell yeah! The Cape Canopy Tour zipline in Grabouw is an absolute must-do. Situated in the UNESCO heritage site of the Hottentot’s Holland Nature Reserve, it is an adrenalin-packed experience with the added bonus of raw exposure to nature. The impressive mountain range is beset by a diversity of plants that is unmatched on the rest of the planet. The Cape Floristic Region is the smallest of the recognized biodiversity hotspots, and also happens to be one of the hottest too. The zipline course takes you through one of the prominent gorges, and gives you unbeatable views of this dramatic and gorgeous setting.
I hate gift shopping, and I often go the route of paying for an experience or meal wherever possible as an alternative. So when Rebecca’s birthday came around this year and I was stumped, a suggestion from her friend Isabelle that we do the zipline was an obvious choice! I had a standing agreement with the managers at Cape Canopy Tours that I could complete the course for free, since I was part of their nature guide assessment team and we weren’t able to finish the course that day because of weather complications. I was worried that I was cursed, when on my second attempt we encountered dense fog over Sir Lowry’s Pass, but my fears were allayed as we burst through the clouds and were greeted by beautiful blue skies in Grabouw. The experience starts at basecamp, where you are shown a safety briefing and kitted out with your (not-so) stylish helmet and harness gear. From there it’s a 30 minute 4x4 drive up to the top of the course. Don’t be surprised if you end up in someone else’s lap during the transit – the road is very bumpy, and you get to know your fellow adventure seekers on a very personal level in that short trip. From there it’s a short hike in to the first platform, and then 11 ziplines of absolute bliss. This course is the highest, longest, and fastest in the country, and I am certain that none rivals its setting either. The whole experience is very slick. The guides are hilarious, forever cracking jokes along the way and keeping spirits high. Safety is always paramount, and at no stage of the experience are you not clipped on to a safety line of some sort. The base is kitted out with a coffee bar and barista, free wifi, ice creams and other snacks, and when you return from your trip you are served a fresh and delicious pie (there’s a selection of choices, vegetarian too) homemade at the Peregrine Farm Stall nearby. The reception staff are friendly, and check-in is done on one of an army of state-of-the-art tablets mounted on the reception desk. The assistant manager even took the time to advise us on the best local wine farms to do tastings at. We tried Almenkerk and Iona, and couldn’t leave either without buying a bottle. The only downsides to the experience are the bumpy ride up and down, and the price tag (R695 per person standard rate). While it is on the high end, it is certainly an experience that you will remember and savour for a long time, and you are sent a free video link of your trip as a souvenir. I can highly recommend doing this course at least once. If you have done the course before you can repeat it for free within 3 days of your birthday, which is an offer I will definitely take up in the near future!
1 Comment
7/9/2023 10:02:14
I really enjoyed this post. You describe this topic very well. I really enjoy reading your blog and I will definitely bookmark it! Keep up the interesting posts!
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AuthorI am a birder, biologist, and nature blogger. I post about my trips, informative tidbits, and things I think are interesting. Archives
July 2017
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