Skyway Trails Zipline | Flying High in the Lowveld
Skyway Trails in Hazyview offers a zip line experience which is possibly the closest to flying a person can get without jumping out of an aeroplane. A zig-zag zip line network cutting through the Sabie River valley sees people of all ages soaring through and above the treetops in a unique and thrilling two and a half hour long adventure.
Text & photographs: Dale Hes
At Skyway Trails’ main office at Perry’s Bridge, clients briefly fill out the necessary forms before an introduction to their guides and the gear needed to traverse the trail.
A comprehensive training session is carried out by the guides before you take on the real deal, giving you a chance to learn all the correct techniques and to have a trial run on a twenty metre long zip line travelling about a meter above a soft sand pit.
This significantly reduces any apprehension you may have felt when putting on your hard hats, heavy duty gloves and harnesses.
The actual trail, which is located a short drive on an open land rover away, is comprised of ten separate sections, each of which differs from the other in terms of the type of ride they offer. In total, the trail measures 1.2km long, and between each zip line an elevated platform allows riders to admire the beauty of the ecosystem around them.
The first zip line, at a substantial 230m long, can result in participants reaching speeds of up to 70km/h as they fly over the stunning indigenous forest.
This first hurdle is a leap of faith, but once you have been placated by your guide, steadied your nerves and taken the plunge, the butterflies settle and you can enjoy the rest of the trip with the knowledge that you are safe and in good hands.
Any fear you have is replaced with an excitement for the whirlwind ride that is to follow. The trees whisk past in a kaleidoscope of different shades of green, and with each ride you grow more confident. A significant advantage is that you can personally control the speed at which you descend the zip lines by simply gripping your gloved hand on the cable above you. But, adrenaline junkies may decide to release the cable altogether, going with the ‘look mom, no hands’ approach, allowing the harness to do all the work.
Metal stoppers strategically placed before every wooden platform also ensure that if you are travelling at high speed you are automatically slowed down to a safer pace, preventing you from clattering into your fellow zip liners.
The trail is designed in accordance with South African civil engineering standards, and maintenance on the zip lines is done regularly and meticulously by the eagle-eyed guides.
The guides are affable characters with good senses of humour and a knack for allaying the fears of white-knuckled first-timers. Both guides carry with them plenty of water bottles, so there is no danger of becoming dehydrated, and a fifteen minute halfway stop next to a river allows riders to reflect on their adventure thus far.
The latter parts of the course offer a different experience from the high paced, above-the-treetops thrillers. The zip lines now run below the tree canopy and riders are transported into a world of shady jungle plants and trickling streams. This is a time where one can truly be in touch with nature and enjoy a well-deserved nerve-settler following the excitement of the first half of the course.
The trail can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Kids can go with your guide or opt to rather take on the more sedate but challenging obstacle course. The only real hindrance would be a phobia of heights, as the highest zip line runs at 30m above the ground.
Skyway Trails offers a safe but exhilarating experience to be enjoyed by the family, a group of friends or work colleagues and is guaranteed to provide plenty of laughter, excitement and lasting memories.
Getting there: The meeting point is at Perry’s Bridge Trading Post, Hazyview
For bookings, call: 082 825 0209 or (013) 7376747 More on Skyway Trails