Adrenalin Junkie Activities in KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal — the part of South Africa endowed with a per­man­ently tem­per­ate cli­mate, the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Mountains, the Isimangaliso Wetland Park (Greater St Lucia Wetland Park), the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Park, the Elephant and Hibiscus Coasts, the Dlinza Forest and the Battlefields of the interior. There is enough adven­ture oppor­tun­ity here for months of enter­tain­ment, never mind days.

This is the land of end­less sum­mer. The coastal heart of Ethekwini-Durban and the beaches of the north and south coasts offer end­less play­ground mater­ial – extreme water sports, sea and wild­life adven­tures are two to a dime all the way to the most south­ern resort town of Port Edward and the far reaches of Kosi Bay and Lake Sibaya. KwaZulu-Natal is where the giant sardine shoal run occurs, and where man fol­lows suite in rig­or­ous events like the Comrades Marathon, the Amashovashova road race and the Dusi Canoe Marathon.

Whether its boat­ing, turtle spot­ting, canoe­ing, snor­kelling, scub diving, hik­ing, quad bik­ing, whale watch­ing, rock climb­ing or moun­tain bik­ing you're after, KwaZulu-Natal has some­thing for every­one seek­ing a thrill ...

Do the Dlinza Forest aer­ial board­walk:
Alright, as far as thrill and fear factors are con­cerned this has a pretty low threshold, but you have to admit that the magical exper­i­ence of walk­ing through an indi­gen­ous forest can­opy in amongst the birds 10 metres up is some­thing worth adding to your itin­er­ary, if only because for the incred­ible views (more here about Dlinza Forest)

Swing over Oribi Gorge:
This should make up for the lack of excite­ment in the above item. Beautiful Oribi Gorge, roughly 11 kilo­metres from Port Shepstone (you can spend the after­noon catch­ing your breath on the beach), offers a swing to remem­ber from the top of Lehrs Falls. And in case you're think­ing that a swing couldn't pack half the punch of a bungi jump, this swing is the highest swing in the world!

You can choose to jump or step off the top of the water­fall and drop 33 storeys or 100 metres in an arc over the gorge. Whilst you're here, you can also abseil or river raft through the gorge.

Contact Oribi X-Treme on +27 (0)39 687‑0253

Quad bike over Sani Pass:
With a pit stop at the highest pub in Africa, ride a quad bike over 50 kilo­metres worth of incred­ible scenery. Described as the 'roof of Africa' Sani Pass is not only an entry point into Lesotho from South Africa but is prob­ably South Africa's most spec­tac­u­lar moun­tain road. The views of the Drakensberg are simply breathtaking.

The rugged moun­tains bear test­a­ment to the fact that most of the drive up here is only pos­sible with a 4x4. This is the king­dom of the moun­tains, a remote beau­ti­ful world in which mod­ern man has little bearing.

Contact Sani Pass Quad Tours on +27 (0)72 425‑5230

Scuba dive at Sodwana Bay Nature Reserve:
Africa's most south­ern coral reefs is one of the most beau­ti­ful places to snorkel and scuba dive. Best diving is between April and September, but really con­di­tions are good through­out the year, as weather is sub­trop­ical and the water usu­ally above 20°C.

To add to the thrill, if you head to Sodwana dur­ing the sum­mer months, log­ger­head and leather­b­ack turtles come out of the sea at night to next on the beaches and night turtle tours are avail­able dur­ing December/January, depend­ing on the tide.

Contact Janice Dodkins on +27 (0)83 459‑4222

Go surf­ing in Durban:
Durban is the place to surf (although the guys in Jeffreys bay might argue). In sea­son Durban's beaches are more than a little crowded, but with over 100 kilo­metres of coast­line to explore, you're sure to find a wave or two that isn't jammed with bod­ies. Not only is the water beau­ti­fully warm but there are also some excel­lent spots that pro­duce big, hol­low waves – New Pier, Cave Rock, Ansteys, Vetch's Pier, North Beach (although watch out for all of the body boarders) and the Bay of Plenty is a good spot to learn how to surf.

Shark Patrol Boat Adventure:
You'll be excused for think­ing that you are the only life force raised as you ascend before the sun and head for the hori­zon. This offi­cial Natal Sharks Board (NSB) water patrol departs with an entour­age of seagulls at sun­rise wak­ing you before the wind and hand­ing you over to choppy waters whose warm fresh spray keeps you awake and alert.

Epic views dis­play Durban Harbour as you begin boat­ing along Durban's 'Golden Mile' of Indian Ocean coast­line and beaches (see more about this at Shark Patrol Boat Adventure).

Contact: +27 (0)82 403‑9206

Tackle Ship's Prow Pass in the Drakensberg:
Notorious for rock falls and usu­ally not recom­men­ded, this is a par­tic­u­larly dif­fi­cult pass – it's very steep, and in good weather it is do-able but in bad weather, which occurs without warn­ing, it can get tough. As you climb, the rather impress­ive 'prow' towers over you. It tops out at 3 300 metres, mak­ing it the highest sum­mit of any pass in the Drakensberg, and not an easy climb. Alternatively, do the Sentinel to Monks Cowl via Gray's Pass hike. It takes 8 days and the entire trip is spent on the escarp­ment of the Drakensberg. Or the beau­ti­ful Mehloding Adventure Trail, a more sed­ate but no less beau­ti­ful one-to-four day hike.

Kayak at St Lucia:
A real sense of free­dom and incred­ible views are yours as you Kayak from Kosi Bay to the St Lucia Estuary. Anything from day trips to overnight pack­ages can be catered for. Paddle around the mangrove-covered islands and spot bask­ing cro­codiles and fish­ing water-birds. Hear the cry of the fish eagle and view hip­pos rest­ing in the waters or brows­ing on the grassy sandbanks.

A great trip for people keen to see wet­land bird-life or just to enjoy being in nature; this trip is a fairly non-strenuous flat-water paddle suit­able for both exper­i­enced and novice pad­dlers. They pick you up at your St Lucia accommmod­a­tion or meet at their offices in the town. The trip lasts around 3 hours.

Contact: +27 (0)35 590‑1233

Useful Links:
And if none of these sug­ges­tions get your adren­aline racing check out KwaZulu Natal Extreme Adventure or KwaZulu Natal Water Sports. For those who prefer less extreme activ­it­ies browse through our grow­ing selec­tion of Things to Do in KwaZulu Natal — theres lots to do, from sports & leis­ure, sight see­ing, cruises, wild­life encoun­ters, fish­ing ... and a whole lot more. And to save money to spend on activ­it­ies, book your accom­mod­a­tion in KwaZulu Natal via the SA-Venues.com site — No com­mi­s­ions, no ser­vice fees. You deal and book dir­ect — sav­ing you money!