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10 Adrenaline-Inducing African Adventures

10 Adrenaline-Inducing African Adventures

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Africa is filled with adrenaline-pumping mega adventures, from skydiving to swimming with sharks, and world-class bungee jumping to summiting one of the planet’s highest peaks. Here are 10 favorites.

ohiocombatveterans.org
ohiocombatveterans.org


1. Skydive into sand dunes in Namibia

For the ultimate adrenaline experience, nothing beats jumping out of an airplane at 10,000 feet and free falling for 30 seconds at 220 kilometers per hour before your chute deploys and you can enjoy the breathtaking dune landscape you’ll be landing in. If this sounds like a rush, hit up the folks at Ground Rush Adventures in Swakopmund. Oh and the price includes a 25-minute scenic flight on the way out – although you might be freaking out too much to really enjoy it.

shark-in-the-water.blogspot.com
shark-in-the-water.blogspot.com

2. Swim with sharks in South Africa
Nothing gets adrenaline pumping more than icy cold water and great white sharks. You can experience this in a cage by taking the White Sharking Diving Company up on their offer to show you these magnificent creatures up close and personal on Dyer Island off the Gaansbaai Coast in the Western Cape.

www.adventureus.com
www.adventureus.com

3. Kayak the Zambezi straddling Zambia and Zimbabwe
One of the world’s most gnarly stretches of whitewater is found just south of Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River that flows between Zimbabwe and Zambia. The almost non-stop ride includes almost non-stop class IV and V monster rapids (there are some two dozen to navigate) ride from the put-in under the Victoria Falls Bridge. For the ultimate experience, tackle the course in an inflatable kayak, where you’ll have no one but yourself to blame for flipping.

Mountain gorillas

4. Track endangered apes in Rwanda, Uganda or the Democratic Republic of Congo

Africa’s magnificent mountain gorillas only roam three countries these days – Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. All offer trekking experiences to get up close to these highly endangered great apes. There are less than 1,000 left on the planet, so just seeing a gorilla should make your heart race.

www.wallpapergellary.blogspot.com
www.wallpapergellary.blogspot.com

5. Bungee jump off Bloukraans in South Africa
Price Harry has jumped off it. So did Andy Irons, Kelly Slater, the Zuma family and the Amazing Race cast. The world’s highest commercial bungee bridge is on South Africa’s popular Garden Route in Tsitsikamma near Plettenburg Bay, and for the last 23 years, thrill-seeking tourists have taken the plunge.

www.jetsetter.com
www.jetsetter.com

6. Climb Kilimanjaro in Tanzania
It takes around eight days of trekking to summit the 19,000-foot-plus Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, considered one of the world’s Seven Summits. To reach the top takes a fair dose of willpower, but once you do, you’ll be rewarded with knowing you’re part of a special group that’s climbed the world’s highest freestanding mountain – it is more than 3.5 miles high!

www.smh.com.au
www.smh.com.au

7. Raft the White Nile, Uganda
Trips down Uganda’s raging White Nile range from a half day to three days and the rapids get wilder the further downstream you go. The full-day adventure with Nile River Explorers takes you down a 25-kilometer stretch of mostly class V whitewater just upstream from Lake Victoria and the town of Jinja that includes a 12-foot waterfall drop.

www.surfingafrica.net
www.surfingafrica.net

8. Sandboard down dunescapes in Egypt
Sure you’ve heard of snowboarding but sandboarding? Strange as it may sound, the phenomenon of riding a waxed board down a mountain of sand rather than snow has been around since the 1960s. Egypt has some of the most varied conditions in Africa. Try the Great Sand Sea near Siwi, El Safra and El Hadudah dunes between St. Catherine and Dahab and the Qattaniya dunes, which are less than a two-hour drive from Cairo.

www.theboardroomadventures.co.za
www.theboardroomadventures.co.za

9. Rappel off Table Mountain in South Africa
Step off the top of 6,000-foot-high Table Mountain holding tight to a rope, and rappel downwards into adrenaline-rushing oblivion. Tackling the highest commercial abseil in the world, you’ll descend for nearly 350 feet. Make the experience even more of an adventure by hiking rather than taking the cable car to the starting point at the top of Table Mountain. Oh yeah, on the way down? Make sure to take in the views of Cape Town, the Twelve Apostles mountain range and the surrounding seascape.

lion park
tripadvisor

10. Walk with lions in Zimbabwe
Lions abound at Mana Pools National Park, an unfenced UNESCO World Heritage-listed site. And for the truly brave (or stupid) this is the only national park in Africa that allows you to walk unguided among them – we don’t really recommend it, but if nothing else gets your blood rushing, maybe this will.