Have you ever wondered what the Cape’s gorgeous mountains and rivers look like from a bird’s eye view?

Situated in the Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve, Cape Canopy Tours will take you into a previously inaccessible and pristine part of this amazing World Heritage Site to soar through the air on 11 thrilling ziplines, some over 100 metres high.

“The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for a newer and richer experience,” said Eleanor Roosevelt. I took that to heart when we set out for the day, knowing I’m about to have a whole new experience. 

After a safety briefing and kitting up, the groups receive the “African massage” treatment on the bumpy 4×4 ride high into the mountain range.

Our two professional guides ensured that strict safety standards were enforced, but not without a healthy dose of wit and laughs. Some of the current employees even helped build the zipline system from scratch six years ago, carrying all the equipment up the mountains manually, then hanging mid-air from the cables for hours on end to build the sturdy platforms.

We slid along steel cables from platform to platform over waterfalls and fynbos, whizzing through the air on lines up to 320m long. There is always one guide that speeds off first to make sure all is well and catch the wide-eyed guests on the other side. The other guide, who goes last after everyone is safely on the other side, is also available for tandem rides should anyone feel more comfortable taking the “zipline Uber.”

With adrenaline still rushing through our veins after the adventure, we take the 30-minute walk back to the pickup spot and return with hungry tummies to the smell of the Elgin valley’s famous Peregrine pies.

For more information or to contact Cape Canopy Tours, click here. 

Pictures: Supplied

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