Adrenalin Junkie Activities in Mpumalanga

Mpumalanga is often referred to as the 'adven­ture cap­ital' of South Africa, and it is not hard to ima­gine that this para­dise of lowveld, spec­tac­u­lar moun­tains, val­leys, rivers, water­falls and forests, set on the east­ern bor­ders of the coun­try and includ­ing a por­tion of the Kruger National Park, serves as one of the Big 5 exper­i­ences of the world and a riv­et­ing out­door activ­ity experience ...

Mpumalanga, bordered by Mozambique and Swaziland, is set mainly on high grass­lands which appear to roll indef­in­itely in an east­erly dir­ec­tion. Mountain peaks rise in the north east of the province, provid­ing escarp­ment plunges into the area known as the Lowveld.

With unique form­a­tions like God's Window, the Blyde River Canyon (South Africa's largest veget­ated canyon), Sudwala Caves, the Three Rondavels and Bourkes Luck Potholes, is it any won­der that adven­ture is part and par­cel of any trip to this part of the coun­try. This is the province where bal­loon­ing is regarded as 'sedate'.

Paraglide off the Blyde River Canyon's cliffs:
The dra­matic escarp­ment of Mpumalanga, the Blyde River Canyon offers some of the best hanglid­ing and paraglid­ing in the coun­try. Not only is there some pretty awe­some scenery – the Three Rondawels are huge rocks that appear to simply spiral from the canyon's wall, and the lookout point at God's Window provides some of the most incred­ible views around – but strong thermals and high cloud-base mean that paraglid­ing or hanglid­ing here is in some of the best con­di­tions. If this isn't enough for you, try paraglid­ing from Lone Tree Hill, Barberton.

Go cav­ing in the Sudwala caves:
The Sudwala caves are the old­est known caves in the world. They lie in the Drakensberg escarp­ment that sep­ar­ates the Lowveld from the Highveld and are believed to have been formed some 3 000 mil­lion years ago.

If it's adven­ture you're after then the Crystal tour is your thing. Whilst the route is not par­tic­u­larly dif­fi­cult, there are only a few stretches involving crawl­ing through tun­nels, which may con­tain water, it takes you into the very bowels of the earth and 2 000 metres into the cave.

Contact: Sudwala Caves on +27 (0)13 733‑4152.

Go on a rhino walk­ing safari:
This is a great way to see the Kruger National Park with a dif­fer­ence. Surprisingly, saun­ter­ing through Kruger is not as dan­ger­ous as it sounds.

What it is, is a totally novel exper­i­ence. The bush on the back of a 4x4 vehicle is sed­ate by com­par­ison with the intim­id­a­tion and sur­prise of the amaz­ing bush on foot.

At all times you are accom­pan­ied by exper­i­enced, armed guides, who lead you for hours through the bush, examin­ing not only the anim­als you might see, but every tree, leaf, insect and flower too. Sleeping out under the stars is simply an added bonus.

Contact: Rhino Walking Safaris on +27 (0)11 467‑1881 (or see Rhino Walking Safari)

Abseil or rock climb Elands River gorge at Waterval Boven:
The cliffs and crags at Waterval Boven are voted the best des­tin­a­tion in the coun­try, and abseil­ing is one of the biggest attrac­tions of those seek­ing an adren­aline high.

This region is also one of the top rock climb­ing des­tin­a­tions in South Africa and where you'll find the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. No, it isn't some­where you can grab a really good pan­cake after a really sweaty climb (although there are camp­ing facil­it­ies here), rather the Restaurant is one of the best sport climb­ing areas, bolted with 349 and 100 trad or semi-bolted routes.

Contact: Roc 'n Rope Adventures on +27 (0)13 257‑0363

River raft­ing on the Sabie River:
This is exhilir­at­ing stuff. Negotiating white water rap­ids on one of the most scenic rivers near Hazyview def­in­itely tops the list of activities.

The jour­ney takes you past indi­gen­ous forests, over vari­ous small rap­ids and includes numer­ous dos­ings with water. Not much chance that you'll still be dry by the end of the trip.

Contact: Sabie River Adventures on +27 (0)13 737‑8266

Useful Links:
For more extreme adven­ture options (and the less extreme)  see the fol­low­ing:
Extreme Adventure in Mpumalanga
Sports & Leisure in Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga Hiking Trails

If none of these activ­it­ies floats your boat check out our sec­tion on Things to Do in Mpumalanga. You will find lots to do includ­ing wild­life encoun­ters, horse rid­ing, hik­ing trails ... and lots more to keep you busy for days on end. If you need to book a place to stay see accom­mod­a­tion in Mpumalanga — Deal Direct with the hotels and lodges, you'll save on ser­vice fees and book­ing commissions.