Whizzing by wilderness

Speed and height are scary, and also thrilling. I would not be honest if I said that I was not scared when we set out on a canopy tour at Blue Grotto forest at Drakensberg in South Africa. But when you complete it, it is an out-of-the-world experience.

Zip-lines and aerial bridges between platforms built in trees are used through a wooded and mountainous landscape in canopy tours. Adventure enthusiasts are harnessed to a steel cable throughout the entire tour for safety.

Outdoorsy’s turf 

The uKhahlamba-Drakensberg mountain range offers incredible natural beauty and a wealth of recreational activities. Because of its range of plant life and the richest collection of San rock paintings in Africa, it has been declared a World Heritage Site. It is South Africa’s highest range, peaking at 3,475 metres and stretching for more than 1,000 km. In Zulu, the range is known as uKhahlamba, meaning ‘barrier of spears’. Early settlers called it Drakensberge, because they believed it resembled a dragon’s back.

The mountains, with numerous valleys and rivers, is an outdoor playground where South Africans enjoy leisure time pursuing activities including the canopy tour, trout fishing, kayaking, tubing, swimming, quad biking, horse riding, photography, bird watching, rambling, rock climbing and hot air balloon rides over hidden valleys.“Darr ke aage jeeth hain,” one of my colleagues who had accompanied me on an invitation from South African Tourism quoted from the advertisement line of a popular soft drink. “What’s the fun in coming to South Africa and returning without trying an adventure sport,” I told myself.

Drakensberg Canopy Tour organisers make you feel comfortable as soon as they meet you. A short pep talk is given before you embark on the journey. But, by then, three of our team of 13 had already opted out. The rest were split into two groups. I was in the second.

In all, there are 11 slides through the thick forests and steep hills. The best part of zip-lining or canopy tour is that you don’t have to do anything. You muster enough courage and surrender yourself to the experts who will keep talking to you to make your journey a memorable one.

The three levels of harnessing assure you that you are safe. The guides take the first ride, at times dancing on the rope way, promising that the steel cables are strong enough, and they provide you enough thrill. Two guides escort each group and will monitor your progress at all times.

The tour begins with a short slide, enough to make you comfortable. The next one is a little longer. The sight of the third one sends shivers down your spine. It’s not just long and high, you feel as if you will hit one of the tree branches on your way. But, rest assured, you will not. The feeling of overcoming these hurdles makes your experience more thrilling.

Counting slides

As you slide with fear and excitement, your guides record all your moods with the help of a handicam. After three to four slides are completed, you gather enough courage and start counting how many more are left. After the 11th one, I was jumping in joy. I returned with an immensely rewarding sense of achievement. 

After the tour, you walk back to the vehicle parked atop the hill with thrilling stories to tell your folks. Once you are back at the base camp, a light refreshment awaits you. By the time you are done with it, a DVD is handed over to you with all your adventures fully recorded. You even take home a canopy tour completion certificate to prove it to your friends and relatives. Back home, you are a superhero who has flown from platform to platform like Tarzan.