Storms river

This is Bloukrans Bridge in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. It is roughly ten minutes from Storms River Bridge, where you can relax, pick out some lunch and enjoy a beautiful nature walk in the Garden Route. When setting out on the road from Port Elizabeth to Plettenberg Bay, this would be your first stop after Tsitsikama Falls Adventures. But as we shall see, this is no ordinary bridge....

You see, when driving accross, if you have your windows open, you may hear a faint scream in the distance, as if coming from underneath the bridge. What you hear is not the ghosts of the brave men and women who risked their lives to construct the architectural wonder. There are people of all ages letting out all of life's tension in five minute intervals, standing... or falling... right underneath the centre of the bridge.

Face Adrenalin signs are plastered all over the grey concrete, and strange ropes hang over the edge, stretching beneath the gaping gorge in the earth's crust. This is not the work of graffiti artists, but rather, some very organised local thrill seekers.

To get there, they have to fit a harness to their upper torso, cross the ten minute walk along the cliffside of the gorge and pass over a terrifyingly thin plate of steel right beneath the tar road. On arrival, these brave men and women are ushered by local folk to a little wooden bench, where padded loops are tied to their feet, attached to long strechy ropes. After nervously pacing up and down on one spot for a few minutes, two helpers hold their arms outstretched, whilst they hop to the end of the platform and peer over the edge to face the planet in all its glory.

And then, they take the plunge. A complete leap of faith to view nature up side down at great speed. Usually it is quiet until the roap tugs at their feet to let them know they have arrived. Then you can hear the earth shattering sigh of release.

Getting down is the easy part. If they have paid their fee, a helping hand arrives soon enough to hoist them back up to the suspended pile of concrete. Then they can make their way back to solid earth.

Then back up to the restaurant for a hot meal and cold beer to watch their friends take the plunge on wide screen live TV footage!

If you prefer the gentle way down, grab a flyer for further details on tandem paraglyding right next door.

This is of course Bloukrans ....

The ultimate thrill.

Paul Sauer Bridge over the Storms River has a spectacular petrol filling station and rest point about halfway between Port Elizabeth and Plettenberg Bay.

Set atop a narrow, steep gorge that sharply splits the earth in two, the bridge offers mountain views and nature walks.

At the west end of the bridge is some of the last natural forest left in the area, where elephants have roamed freely for centuries.

The area hosts the exclusive Kurland Polo club and hotel, bird world, snake park, elephant sanctury and monkey land. Picnic spots are available in the ancient forest, but watch out for roaming baboon and monkey troops out to steal your lunch.

When planning a garden route trip, start from Port Elizabeth and slowly cruise to Cape town, leaving enough time to explore gems such as these. The trip takes six to eight hours without stopping. However, there is plenty of bed and breakfast accomodation along the way.

The spectacular Outeniqua range spreads along the garden route coast all the way to Cape Town.


Helicopter rides are a great way to get close to the peaks and cliffs.

The cliftop restaurant and shops offer local cuisine and other curios.

The mountains are the home of proteas and fynbos (fine bush), earning their home the title of Garden Route. In spring, the mountains burst into a mass of colour, covered in this breathtaking flora.

The bridge offers a unique opportunity to explore a civil engineering triumph. Walkways on top of the bridge and around the base allow an up close and personal look at the nuts and bolts that hold it all together.

The river is so far down that it can only be viewed from the middle of the road bridge by foot, and even from there it is hard to see with the naked eye.

Lawnwood snake park offers an unforgettable education of local reptiles.

Storms river mouth has a great swimming beach and a hanging bridge over it that sways in the wind. Beware though that the mountains are covered with poisenous snakes and ocean waters are infested with man eating sharks.