South Africa Canopy Tours - South Africa offers a wealth of abseiling opportunities

For those of you who really take pleasure in nature, South African Canopy Tours are definitely for you. Canopy Tours involve sliding from one high level forest platform to another along a steel cable suspended up to thirty metres above the forest floor.

Originally, tree top canopy slides were designed to allow biologists access to mysterious forest canopies in order to study the hard-to-get at plants that live high up in the trees. These biologists realised that sliding through the trees in this way was fun and enjoyable, and the idea caught on. There are a relatively few similar tours elsewhere in the world but it was in South Africa that canopy or ‘tree top tours’ really took off. The tour consists of approximately ten platforms and slides that wind down through an unspoiled forested valley or ancient rocky gorge. Two trained guides will accompany you and your friends for the duration of the tour and ensure the safety of each group whilst pointing out any interesting plants, birds or animals along the way.

Your South African canopy tour will begin with a safety briefing. Your guides will demonstrate how to slide on the cables and will inform you of any safety procedures that need to be adhered to on the tour. Thereafter, you will be kitted up with a full body harness, pulley, climbing equipment and safety helmet. You and your group will then be transported into the forest or up to the mountain in an open vehicle to the start of the canopy tour. From the start, an entire new world unveils itself as one glides gently through the forest. Once arriving at each platform, stop for a while and breathe in the fresh air while admiring the spectacular scenery of the forest around you.

If the thought of sliding from one high level platform to another makes you uneasy, do not be hindered. South African Canopy Tours can be done in tandem.

Doing the canopy tour in tandem allows you to slide down each cable attached in front of a guide who controls your speed and allows you to take in the whole experience without worrying about a thing! So both young and old can enjoy this breathtaking experience.

Each tour ends with a short walk out of the forest to the waiting vehicle. Upon returning to the office you will then be shown into the restaurant to enjoy a well-deserved meal and refreshments. Canopy Tours in South Africa take place in 3 locations. Firstly, at Tsitsikamma. This is situated at Storms River approximately 45 minutes from Knysna. This is where the first tree top canopy tour was developed in South Africa. The tour consists of 10 platforms and 10 slides, the longest of which is 100m.

Then there is Karkloof which is north of Howick in the KawZulu Natal Midlands. This tour consists of eight slides, the longest of which is 170m. With this tour, the emphasis is on the forest plants and birds. As well as zooming through the canopy, you also are able to fly above the canopy for a while. Also, The Karkloof Tree Top Canopy Tour has the added advantage of a waterfall and a stream.

Lastly, at Magaliesberg. This tour is near Magaliesburg in the North West Province, about 90 minutes from Johannesburg / Pretoria. The platforms are against spectacular cliffs which offer breathtaking views of the Ysterhout Kloof. In this case, you are mostly above the trees instead of within them. Here you are able to get a fabulous look at the scenery, plants and perhaps some animals.

So, if you are not afraid of heights and wish to enjoy nature more fully in the best possible way, book yourself a Canopy Tours.