1. Photographby###
DISCOVER MORE DESTINATIONS AT
ESCAPISMMAGAZINE.COM
TOES OVER
HERE WE
GO From bungee jumping off
a power station, to taking in
the views from the back of an
elephant, Ed Cooper discovers
some of the more adventurous
ways to explore the sights and
sounds of South Africa
EX PERIENCES
5352

2. Photographby###
While it’s not one of
South Africa’s three
capital cities (Cape
Town, Pretoria and
Bloemfontein are),
Johannesburg is
its largest, with a
population of nearly
4,500,000 people.
The Orlando Power
Station cooling
towers are an iconic
part of Soweto’s
skyline. One of
them now features
the largest mural
painting in all of
South Africa.
Nelson Mandela
lived in a house in
Soweto from 1946-
1962. When he was
released from prison
in 1990, he returned,
stating upon arrival,
“I have come home
at last.”
T
he wheels screech; the driver
laughs; I scream with euphoria.
We hurtle around a hard left,
and I wonder how I’ll feel when
I eventually face my fate after
going toe-to-toe with doom. Will
I meet it with total, uncontrollable fear? Or
perhaps a wry, knowing smile. Either way, at
least I – and my speed-hungry mates, who are
losing their minds in the back – are seeing
Johannesburg from a unique perspective.
If it weren’t obvious already, we’re mid-
way through a high-octane tour of the city
at the hand of its ‘Drifting Captain’, who
continues to laugh both at his passengers
and at the notion of death.
Avoiding oncoming traffic and dashing
through Soweto (one of South Africa’s most
prominent townships as the birthplace of
Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela and –
more gravely – the home of the 1976 student
uprising), we screech around another
neck-breaking bend while losing no fraction
of speed (the speedometer remains at a
cool 130kmh). We eventually glide into Kwa
Lichaba, our meeting
spot and bar-meets-
carwash-meets-
drifting-hotspot that
marks the finale of
our introduction
to Soweto. Like
it or not, there’s
something
undeniably addictive – perhaps the
remnants of a long-gone primal urge – about
removing yourself from any kind of comfort
whatsoever. For someone like me who’s
a magnet for drama, this is the perfect
introduction to South Africa.
And introductions don’t come bigger or
bolder than the next sight that greets me –
Soweto’s looming, mural-covered Orlando
Power Station cooling towers.
Built 64 years ago, and since then a
dominant fixture in the Soweto skyline,
the power station once fed electricity
to Johannesburg, but has since become
a hub for the sort of adrenaline-hungry
adventurers who froth at the idea of putting
themselves in harm’s way. Inevitably, I’m
about to join their ranks (extra froth,
please) as I sign a waiver and ascend up
one of the cooling towers to overlook the
Sowetan sunset before my jump.
The bungee platform, built of wood
and rope, sways gently in the breeze at
100m above the floor and is surrounded by
romantic murals of Soweto culture, with
colourful portraits
of the late Nelson
Mandela alongside
the township’s
passionate love for
music. The view
from the top of the
Orlando cooling
towers is sobering,
yet also – somehow
– completely
inebriating at the
same time, especially
as I gaze onto
Johannesburg flowing
into the horizon, a
welcome distraction to the inevitable ‘don’t
look down’ moment before the jump.
And there it is again. Going toe-to-toe
with doom. Although this time, doom looks
less like a hard corner in Johannesburg and
more like a 100m drop. This time it’s
different, it’s personal, and thanks to that
hefty chunk of reckless abandon I adopted
from the ‘Drifting Captain’, I’m ready to give
it the middle finger. I go ‘toes-over’ (a handy
phrase in bungee spheres, apparently) and
jump. My carabiners hold true and after the
longest three-and-a-half seconds
I WONDER
WHAT IT’LL
FEEL LIKE
WHEN I
EVENTUALLY
FACE MY FATE
AFTER GOING
TOE-TO-TOE
WITH DOOM
CLOCKWISE FROM Above: Johannesburg’s
skyline; a mural in Soweto depicts one of the
township’s most famous residents; Soweto
from above; Orlando Power Station cooling
tower − an impressive spot for a bungee jump
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EX PERIENCES
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3. When Addo Elephant
National Park first
opened, it was home
to only 11 elephants,
whereas now there
are over 600, as well
as lions, buffalo,
black rhinos and
leopards.
Port Elizabeth is
known as the Windy
City, Ibhayi (‘the
bay’ in isiXhosa), or
the Friendly City. It
has a 40km strip of
beaches, including
Kings, Hobie and
Humewood.
PhotographsbyAfriPics.com/Alamy(PortElizabeth);VarioimagesGmbH&Co.KG/Alamy
in my life, the
elastic kicks in
alongside my now
all-too-familiar
hysterical laughter to
the tune of “Haaaaa-
ha-ha-haaaa”, the
instantly recognisable
sound of a point on a bucket list being
triumphantly ticked off.
Leaving the madman’s laughter and
glorified pieces of elastic behind, we head
south to Port Elizabeth, for a real and
significantly less urbanised slice of South
Africa. After our sub-two-hour flight touches
down, we’re greeted with one of South
Africa’s biggest cities, deep-rooted on the
eastern seafront and still characteristic
with signs of British colonisation. On
one side, jungle-clad mountains dwarf
Port Elizabeth’s outskirts and flirt with
the skyline, while – opposite – the great
white shark-infested Indian Ocean sprawls
out endlessly during the drive through
Motherwell and further inland.
The next stop? Sundays River, just over
80km North of Port Elizabeth, or – if you
adopt our guide Neil’s mentality – “just up
the road”, where South Africa’s highest
sand dunes are aching to be ridden. Sound
strangely endearing? Good – because that’s
exactly how it is. Presenting itself as an
ideal mecca for those remaining hungry
for a slice of the action (even when away
from the ruckus of Johannesburg and Cape
Town) while being surrounded the Eastern
Cape’s most elite scenery, Sundays River has
become the sandboarding capital of South
Africa, and that’s exactly why we’re here.
Admittedly, it comes across as a hobby
that’s still on the rise (are the rest of South
Africa’s ‘boarders out on the Indian Ocean
dodging sharks?), but – inevitably – you
learn to love the sound of your body rattling
to the tune of big bails, bigger laughs and
the general hubris
that comes with
an afternoon spent
working on your
steez (that’s style
and ease, for non-
sandboarding types).
In South African
terms, Sundays’ next-door neighbour is
the Addo Elephant National Park, which
turns out to be around 50km away (Neil’s
measurement of distance slips up for the
final time). Hidden among the Zuurberg
Mountains’ highest points, it’s peppered
generously with the best of African
wildlife; from thundering African elephants
to opportunistic vervet monkeys and
everything in between. The elephants, in
particular, are like nothing else I’ve ever
seen, with weather-beaten skin showing off
their unrelenting appetite for an indulgent
meal on an Acacia tree.
A perfect crescendo for a week
otherwise spent mainlining adrenaline into
your veins, carousing the park on
SUNDAYS
RIVER IS
WHERE SOUTH
AFRICA’S
HIGHEST SAND
DUNES ARE
ACHING TO BE
RIDDEN
ABOVE AND BELOW: One of Port Elizabeth’s
beaches. The water’s tempting, but there
is the odd great white shark; serene and
vast, Addo Elephant National Park is a place
where you can get back to nature
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4. It’s unsurprising
that the elephants at
Addo are so pleased
with life − it’s
the third largest
national park in
South Africa, with
over 400,000 acres
to roam around in.
PhotographbyJohanSwanepoel/Alamy
elephant-back is an absolute must, albeit
a total, blissful luxury. As you struggle to
balance yourself on the spine of your steed
(mine was called Happy) and cruise gently
around the park – the change of pace from
a souped-up hatchback in the backstreets of
Soweto to Happy’s back is a welcome one.
It’s especially useful when spent
shrugging off the bungee-meets-narcotics
comments that probably have arisen since
(think “perfect for a bungee comedown”,
“you never forget your first time” and
more), as local herds of giraffe stroll
through the bush, while Happy destroys
any Acacia tree in sight.
As a week in South Africa comes to
a glorious close, Happy’s thunderous
footsteps and gleeful trumpeting sound
out a raucous applause to a country that is
absolutely and undeniably life-affirming. e
Escapism was a
guest of South Africa
Tourism and flew
with South African
Airways, which flies
from London Heathrow
to Johannesburg from
£626 return. flysaa.com
NEED TO KNOW
STAY
Amakhala Game Reserve is
proudly Malaria-free and home to
Amakhala’s host of luxury safari
lodges. Each backs out onto the
bush with an all-too-unfamiliar
outdoor shower that’ll get you to
your 6am safari bright and, erm,
bushy. amakhala.co.za
EAT AT
Chaf Pozi is handily located
underneath Soweto’s Cooling
Towers and perfect for a post-
bungee Braai. Serving dish after
dish of some of the best Braai in
Johannesburg, it’s best washed
down with a bottle of Carling
Black (the local’s favourite tipple,
so bypass that cartooned 1%
Jo’burg beer). Lastly, please, for
your sake, leave the meat feast
until after your jump.You’ll just
have to trust us on that one.
chafpozi.co.za
PARTY AT
Kwa Lichaba. Ever walk into
a bar and think, “I wish this
were outside, surrounded by
revving cars, with a live band
and a carwash?”. Us neither,
but – in case any of your party
wants exactly that – Soweto’s
Kwa Lichaba is there to tick the
proverbial box. Like any good
shindig, all you’ll need to bring
is your own drink and an open
mind, and the rest will follow.
kwalichaba.com
THE CHANGE
OF PACE FROM
A SOUPED-
UP HONDA
HATCHBACK
TO THE
BACK OF AN
ELEPHANT IS A
WELCOME ONE
ABOVE: Cruising through Addo National
Elephant Park on the back of one of its resident
African elephants is the perfect antidote to
adreneline-charged city pursuits. Expect to
stop for plenty of snacks though...
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