Hook up to your adrenaline junkie and get high over PE
Adventurous activities for the ‘fairly fit’
ADVENTURE tourism is the new buzzword for energetic travellers and you can enjoy an adventure this summer right in our own backyard. We’ve got activities galore in Nelson Mandela Bay for the active family and, if you are all fairly fit, then I can heartily recommend the Base Camp Adventures High Ropes Experience at Pine Lodge. This includes zip-lining, a climbing wall and an exhilarating high-ropes obstacle course.
A note of caution: as long as you are not afraid of climbing up a wooden tower, pretty much anyone should be able to do the zip-line section. However, when it comes to the climbing wall and high ropes, they are both higher than you think, so if you don’t have a head for heights, stick to the zip-lining!
Experienced instructors Manezi Mbeju and Xolani Nxuzula were our guides, clipping us in to mandatory safety gear and briefing us on what to do and what not to do before tackling the course.
Trained by Hobbiton, Mbeju has 10 years’ experience of hooking up adrenaline junkies and giving them a thrill, and his first stop was hiking us through the bush to climb the tower where the zip-line course starts.
The views from the top of the towers are lovely, stretching out over the sea bordering the Cape Recife conservancy, and it’s quite a rush to zip down the slide over the fynbos. You’ll find it’s over all too quickly.
Next stop – depending on group size and time – is the climbing wall with foot- and hand-holds dotted up the vertical surface. Again you are strapped in to safety equipment so if you fall, you will float.
The reward for getting to the top is you can abseil down again to the bottom.
I am afraid, despite lots of encouragement from the family on the ground, I didn’t manage to get to the top. And it was not for the lack of trying on Mbeju’s part as he coaxes you from foot grip to handhold all the way. Only two of our party scrambled all the way to the top like mountain goats.
Knees shaking like jelly, it was time for the third section, which is the 8m high ropes. This is an open wooden square strung with ropes, beams, wires and tyres which you navigate your way around, and there are two levels so you can choose what you are comfortable with.
But, while you need legs of steel for the climbing wall, you’d better come equipped with nerves of steel for the high ropes because they are higher than you think!
Even though you are firmly secured to a strong wire via your safety harness, there is that psychological barrier that may keep you from leaping out in faith from pillar to post. You’ll also need a fair bit of upper body strength, but boy is it worth it.
We finished the course in less than hour, hands and clothes filthy with grease, and so ready for a dip in the pool and icy cool-drink that are part of the package.
It’s a good idea to wear takkies, or other closed shoes that can grip nicely and, if it’s a hot day, then old shorts and T-shirt would help.
Base Camp Adventures offers several different activities, suitable for all ages. For example, you can hire the astro sport field and play five-aside soccer, cricket and volleyball, or go for a donkey cart tour through the Cape Recife Nature Reserve.
The High Ropes experience is R175 per adult (R125 for children under 12) and this includes all three activities.
• Further information from (041) 583-4004 or adventures@pinelodge.co.za