Every year thousands of thrill seekers spend on tickets aboard flights to South Africa. It has emerged as one of the finest gateways where travellers enjoy breathtaking adventure sports like Shark Cage Diving, Elephant Back Safaris and Whale Watching.
South Africa, the Rainbow Nation is an endearing holiday destination that captivates the visitors with its interesting cultures, unrivalled exquisiteness and jumble of attractions. The nation is a charming saga of thrills and spills and twists and turns. It is best known for delivering an adventure experience as diverse and as colourful as rainbow. From Shark Cage Diving and Elephant Back Safaris to Whale Watching and Sand-boarding, the nation is an ultimate playground to satiate your appetite for thrill. Below is a quick rundown of top adventure activities that South Africa offers to holidaymakers who net flights tickets to the country with adrenaline rush on their minds.
Shark Cage Diving
The popularity of Shark Cage Diving in South Africa has increased significantly and the nation prides itself with a plethora of locations to enjoy this mind-blowing sport. Thrill seekers grabbing air tickets aboard flights to South Africa must head to Gansbaai area of the Western Cape Town, which is nothing but an apt place to have a close and personal experience with sea’s most magnificent creatures. Keen divers are transported to Dyer Island and Geyser Rock islands, situated 12 kilometres offshore from Gansbaai. Situated next to each other, these two areas are ideal for viewing the great white shark.
The operators use a 1 x 4 man cage that remains permanently attached to the diving platform. The required hookah system of diving gives a complete freedom in the cage making for enough room to glance and admire the wild beasts. Although, sharks are quite visible throughout the year, the winter months from May to October, are considered as the best time to get a real kick out of diving.
Elephant Back Safaris
There is nothing like Elephant Back Safaris when it comes to adventure and there is no better place than South Africa to experience it. This exciting activity allows vacationers to come close or even touch the wild animals as they wander around in their natural habitats. The visitors are seated upon a well decorated saddle behind an experienced elephant handler and the safari usually lasts for around an hour and 30 minutes. Travellers may feel a bit nervous initially, but rest of the tour turns into a great excursion.
However, there is a number of game reserves in South Africa that offer Elephant Back Safari but the elephant sanctuary near the Magaliesberg Mountains tops the popularity charts of most wildlife lovers investing on air tickets to the nation. The sanctuary not only allows them to spend an entire day with these animals, but also offer activities like elephant walks, feeding and brushing the elephants.
Whale Watching
South Africa’s premier wildlife activity, Whale Watching is one of the strongest lures that tempt many visitors to buy air tickets on flights to the nation. The destination beyond doubt is one of the world’s best places to witness this mammoth creature. There are two distinct tours organized for the visitors which include land-based and boat-based whale watching. The Western Cape seaside village of Hermanus is renowned for land-based whale-watching. The sheltered bays and coves in between the Cape Hangklip and Witsand offer great opportunities for witnessing the gigantic mammal.
September Whale Festival makes for the best land-based whale watching event in the world and held in the Western Cape seaside village of Hermanus. The festival every year witnesses over 100 000 global whale watching enthusiasts who disembark flights in the country and head to participate in the event. St Lucia, Lamberts Bay on the west coast, Plettenberg Bay and Mossel Bay on the Garden Route and Algoa Bay (Port Elizabeth) on the east coast of South Africa are some other great destinations for whale watching.