Adventure honeymoons in South Africa

View of the Blyde River Canyon, Mpumalanga.

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Adventure honeymoons in South Africa are easy to arrange. The country’s remarkable geological and natural features make it possible to pursue all types of activities from gentle hiking to white water rafting.

But there are some areas of the country that pack in an impressive variety of adventure pursuits, and deserve consideration for newlyweds who like physical challenges.

Adventure-filled honeymoons don't come better than along the Garden Route. At the Storms River Mouth begins 1 of the country’s most challenging hikes, the Otter Trail. This is also the location of the highest commercial bungy jump in the world, at 216m, off the Bloukrans Bridge. Adventure operators in the area offer waterfall zipline tours across 3 waterfalls, canopy tours sliding over the tree tops, black water tubing on the Storms River Gorge (described as a combination of tubing, rock hopping and kloofing), quad bike tours and abseiling.

Honeymoon adventures are also commonplace in the magnificent Drakensberg mountains in KwaZulu-Natal, part of which form a natural and cultural World Heritage Site. In these mountains you can scale sky-high peaks or conquer sheer rock faces. You can mountain bike, abseil, canoe and fish. Those who are into white water rafting can tackle the legendary rapids known as Whiplash, Horrible Horace and the Four-Man-Hole.

In the same province and also a World Heritage Site is the iSimangaliso Wetlands Park, another adventure playground with many water-based activities. You can kayak and swim with turtles, horse ride and scuba dive.

Mpumalanga’s Blyde River or Motlatse Canyon is another popular place for adventure activities. The world’s 3rd largest canyon presents opportunities to abseil, white water river raft and hike. There are great 4x4 trails, as well as mountain bike and quad bike trails. And there’s an adrenaline-pumping cable gorge swing with a 68m freefall.

In the North West province, the Magaliesberg mountain range also offers its share of adventure pursuits such as canopy tours, hot-air ballooning, microlighting, kloofing, rock climbing and more.

In the Western Cape, Cape Town will keep you busy with tandem paragliding, shark cage diving, sea kayaking, surfing, diving shipwrecks, mountain climbing, mountain biking and abseiling.