| Sports & Adventure | ||
| Water Activities | ||
| Beach Fun | ||
| With 1700 km of coastline along the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, South Africa has certainly many ideal beaches to enjoy leisure water sports like snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boating or plain swimming. Some beaches are protected by lifeguards which makes it safe and secure for children to swim. Cape Town´s most beautiful beaches like Camp Bay, Clifton, or Blouberg Strand along the Atlantic are too cold to swim for most of the year, although they are very popular for sun-bathing and other beach activities. The Indian Ocean is much warmer and the whole coastline offers wonderful beaches to enjoy all sorts of watersport activities. | ||
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| Kite & Wind Surfing | ||
| South Africa’s coastal provinces are a great place to set you free on the kite surf. Perfect weather conditions is definitely an advantage to this sport as there is a permanent slight wind that blows over the oceans and lagoons for not just a good surf but for a great scene over the surrounding mountains. Several kite boarding centres and kitesurfing schools offer courses, instructions or lessons and there is even packaged kiteboarding vacations & kitesufing holidays in South Africa. A favorite local gathering place for kiters is e.g. the Extreme Sport Centre in Langebaan, Western Cape. | ||
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| Scuba diving | ||
| Scuba diving in South Africa is a fast growing sport and of high standard. Good quality gear is easily hired. The enormously long coastline ranging from about 35°S to 27°S, allows to dive in the cold waters of the Cape Province, the warmer waters of KwaZulu Natal or the tropical waters close to Mozambique. Whether you want to dive sharks and wrecks on rugged wild coasts, or simply swim with whales and dolphins amidst pristine coral reefs and abundant fish, South Africa has it all. The Cape Province is mostly good for wrecks, white sharks, kelp and colourful sponges. KwaZulu Natal is primarily for mantas, rays, sharks, wrecks, whales, dolphins, turtles, reef and pelagic fish, hard and soft coral reefs. | ||
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| Fishing | ||
| Whole coastal communities subsist on fishing, and the catching, sorting, selling, curing and cooking of this marine treasure is an integral part of the South African cultural heritage. But of course many South Africans head out to the shore with rod and reel more for relaxation than nutrition, although the catch is always a prideful addition to the dinner table or barbeque. Shore angling is the most popular form of fishing - perhaps because it is the most accessible. All you need is a rod and reel, and a list of marine regulations which you obtain from any boating or fishing shop. For a real challenge, though, nothing can beat fly-fishing. It's a bit gear-intensive, and does take some time to learn the relevant skills, but there is nothing to beat standing knee-deep in the waves or river, watching the rising sun reflecting off your tightly looped line as you cast and cast again into the foamy breakers. |
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| River Rafting | ||
| South Africa has fantastic rivers and you are spoiled for choices of tours and adventures. The most popular river - for good reason - is the Orange, which forms the country's northern border with Namibia. Incredibly scenic, it also has a few fun rapids. There are daily trips available at some of the rivers in the Western Cape that often include a wine tasting trip. These leisure tours are considered to be a really wonderful excuse to have a lovely picnic and sample some local wines, with a little bit of paddling thrown in. |
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| Shark Cage Diving | ||
| Sharks are quite possibly the world's most feared animals. From the smallest sand shark to the enormous whale shark, they are sleek, muscled, and some are almost as agile as a dolphin. There is no doubt that they are the most evolved predators in the ocean, so it does not come as a surprise that shark cage diving for the great white sharks has become a whole tourism industry in South Africa. The probably most famous place to go on a shark cage dive safari is Gansbaai. It normally takes about an hour of chumming and baiting before the first great white hones in on the bait with deadly accuracy. Cage Diving is an adventure for the very adventurous only! All others will have a life time memory just standing on the top fly-bridge of the boat and getting an all-round view of the sharks attacking, circling and descending in the crystal clear water. | ||
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