| Sports & Adventure | ||
| Land Activities | ||
| Hiking | ||
| There's no better way to experience South Africa's wild places than with your boots on and your feet on the ground, one in front of the other, taking in the country's fantastically scenic hiking trails. Thousands of kilometres of hiking trails wind around the country, in desert, though forests, over mountains, along the coast, in nature reserves and game parks. A very special highlight and probably the most popular hike in the country is the 5-day Otter Trail along the Tsitsikamma coast. Lush forests, rugged shorelines, mountain streams and waterfalls and fragrant fynbos make this a special one. It's strenuous, with lots of ups and downs, but the distances aren't too great. The Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape offers similar trails but dramatically different scenery: miles of deserted beaches, wave-lashed rocks and occasional tropical forest. Accommodation is in coastal hotels instead of huts. The usual is to carry your pack, but you can arrange to have it driven around, if you plan ahead. | ||
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| Mountain Biking | ||
| Mountain Biking in South Africa is heaven! There are so many fantastic trails within dramatic scenery and for beginners and well-trained experts alike. South Africa is a treasure trove of exciting routes, discovered and waiting to be uncovered, with weather allowing for cycling at any time of the year, all day and just about every day. Around Cape Town there are some great single-track routes on the mountain and in the pine plantations. There are escorted trips on the mountain, around the winelands and in the Cape Point section of the Cape Peninsula National Park. KwaZulu-Natal also has its share of incredible routes, with many great ones in the Drakensberg and the Midlands. | ||
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| Horseback safaris | ||
| Horse riding trails in South Africa are as diverse as the terrain. You can take a brisk canter along a beach, an amble through vineyards, a fast ride across sweeping grasslands or a meander through magnificent mountain scenery. If you're comfortable on a horse, you can ride among some big game on many of the game farms and nature reserves. Trips range from an hour or two on the outskirts of cities to multi-day treks in the wilderness; in some places you can even do moonlit rides at full moon. | ||
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| Rock climbing | ||
| South Africa offers some of the best, and most diverse, rock climbing in the world. The cliffs are big, wild, often remote - and still being discovered. And it's a climate for being out in. Gear up, chalk up, and start cranking! With routes ranging from scramble-easy to a superhuman 33 - and a number of natural or traditional, or unbolted routes - there's something for everyone here. Outside Durban, there are also a lot of sport climbs, and a few close to Johannesburg. En route between these two major centres, you'll find some wonderful bolted routes in good hard sandstone in the eastern part of the Free State - notably at the Mount Everest nature reserve near Harrismith. One of these deserves special mention. The Cedarberg, two-and-a-half hours' drive north of Cape Town, is a world-class bouldering area - and boasts some of the best trad rock climbing routes in the country. But for a close-to-city experience, nothing can beat Cape Town, with hundreds of sport and traditional routes within the city limits. The city is built around Table Mountain, a national park consisting of two great, hard rock types - Table Mountain sandstone, which gives nice positive edges, and Cape granite, which offers fantastic friction climbing. | ||
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| Abseiling | ||
| Abseiling in South Africa is an activity on its own; you can hang out over the Cape Town abseiling from Table Mountain that is 112meters high – and about a kilometer above the city – making it the world’s largest commercial abseil. There are different abseil routes around the country that make abseiling spectacular like in Knysna where you will be exposed right over crashing waves. |
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| Polo | ||
| Polo has been played in South Africa for over a century. Due to the number of highly trained horses needed to play the game, it has traditionally been a sport for the well-heeled, and even now there are only about 320 registered club players in the country. However, "polo tourism" is beginning to make its mark, with South Africa offering a number of exciting venues and stunning value-add packages - for lovers of the game who are ready to travel. There is also a number of polo clubs, which have started offering coaching and playing facilities to overseas "polo" tourists. Amongst these are: Blueberrry Park Polo School in Kwazulu Natal or the Kurland Estate in Plettenberg, Western Cape. | ||
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