Karkloof Canopy Tour
The Karkloof Canopy Tour® has been built in a spectacular
valley of the mistbelt podacarpus Karkloof Forest Reserve.
The tour includes long swooping slides over the forest
canopy, stops below a 15 metre waterfall and takes in wider views across the
beautiful Karkloof valley.
This was the second canopy tour built in South Africa and
has been designed for the more adventurous nature lover with slides of up to 180
metres long, like the famous N3, making this a highlight of the tour. Expect to
hear the loud calls of the Samango monkey, see a rare orchid or catch the flash
of an Emerald cuckoo as it flies past. The Karkloof Canopy Tour® is a fully
guided experience and will leave you with a sense of exhilaration and a taste
for more.
It wasn’t long before this developed into a breathtaking
eco-tourism activity
that not only allowed people to enter and experience the
upper realm of a rainforest, but raised awareness of the plight and beauty of
the world’s endangered indigenous forests.
Construction of Canopy Tours® South Africa has been done in
accordance with strict civil engineering standards.
Each system has been designed and built by a Canopy Tours®
engineer, starting with the canopy tour in the cloud forests of Costa Rica.
This led to the search for South Africa’s largest trees and
the opening in 2001 of the internationally acclaimed Tsitsikamma Canopy Tour®
on the Garden Route near Storms River.
This was followed by the Karkloof, Magaliesberg,
Magoebaskloof and then Drakensberg Canopy Tours over the next eight years. The
latest addition is the exciting new Malolotja Canopy Tour which opened in
Swaziland in May 2010.
Environmental impact studies are undertaken prior to
construction to ensure that the canopy tours do not harm the surrounding forest
ecology in any way.
Strict environmental management plans have been adhered to
and the construction of South Africa’s Canopy Tours® has been carried out with
the approval of the Department of Water Affairs & Forestry as well as the
Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism.
At Canopy Tours® South Africa we are proud to work closely
with the communities within which we operate.
Each Canopy Tour® site is located in rural areas where we
have helped to uplift local communities by training locals to become guides;
thereby providing a vital source of income and employment.
What to Expect
The Canopy Tour starts with a safety briefing at the canopy
office. Here your guides will first demonstrate how to slide on the cables and
the safety procedures to be followed on the tour, before kitting you up with
full body harness, pulley, climbing equipment and safety helmet.
Your group will then be transported in an open vehicle to
the start of the canopy tour.
From the moment you launch off the first platform, a new
world unfolds as you slide on a steel cable across to the next viewpoint. Once
you arrive at the platform we encourage you to stop for a while and enjoy the
view while your guide points out interesting features or facts about the
surrounding ecology.
All groups are escorted by a lead guide and safety guide at
all times.
Your safety is paramount and we have strict procedures in
place to ensure that you are constantly connected to either the cable or the
platform. Each tour lasts between 2 – 4 hours, depending which particular
Canopy Tour it is and how many people there are in your group. Upon returning
to the office you will enjoy a well-deserved meal and refreshments.
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