A jungle book holiday
Most of us, during our years of growing up, were hooked on to stories of Tarzan and his girlfriend Jane. And the most iconic part of the tale was how Tarzan zipped down vines in the jungle to meet the love of his life. The story came alive for me (well, almost) on my last trip to South Africa. After attending a conference in Durban, I made my way to the Karkloof forest reserve for a canopy tour.
A one-hour-and-20-minute drive from Durban to Karkloof Forest Reserve, Howick, KwaZulu-Natal on a cold, rainy day took me completely by surprise, for it resembled parts of home. The landscape along the route was similar to what one would experience driving through the Western Ghats — the fog, the misty rains gave it a sense of familiarity. En route, one passes the Pietermaritzburg railway station, infamous as the spot where Mahatma Gandhi was pushed off the first class carriage, since it was reserved for white passengers.
The adrenaline rush begins as you take the dirt track road that leads you into the thickly wooded area. Once inside, we were welcomed with some hot tea and coffee along with cookies, just enough to line our stomachs before taking on the adventure. After a bit of chitter-chatter, we’re taken to a room where we empty our pockets and deposit all our belongings into a safe deposit locker. We were briefed in advance about the dress code, so we were all wearing either shorts or leggings with quick dry material T-shirts and sports and trekking shoes.
On those, we wore our safety jackets and harnesses. After a customary group picture in our trekking gear, we were ready for the trail, which started with us being bundled up in a four-wheel drive to get to the heart of the forest. No cell phones and no cameras were allowed on the two-hour drive that takes place in the second largest indigenous forest in Southern Africa.
The tour consists of eight amazing forest ziplines — ranging from 40m to 180m long that zig zag along the magnificent and dense Karkloof forest valleys. Since you aren’t allowed to carry cameras and not clicking pictures of the splendid view is not an option, the tour guide accompanying you will click a picture of you with a professional camera as you embark on the zip lines.
Half way through the activities, we were given soft drinks and an energy bar to keep us going. At the first zipline, most of us were tight-lipped, anxious about the task ahead. But by the second one, I screamed my rehearsed ‘Jane war cry’, as I called it, hoping to hear a shout back from a ‘Tarzan in the woods’. That may not have gone the way I had exactly planned, but the scenery is spectacular and professional guides ensure the safety of each group. Along the way, they also provide interesting facts about the forest ecology.
After the last zip line, one has a short walk through meandering streams, bringing back memories of Famous Five mysteries and their picnics alongside the streams. After we walked back to the base camp, we had some quick bites with our tea and coffee and a CD containing the entire experience is handed over to each one of us at a nominal cost. But if you want to take home more from the place, one can also pick up souvenirs from the gift shop before one heads back to Durban or continues to stay in one of the numerous resorts located in Midlands Meander.
— The author is a globetrotter who believes in experiential, footloose and fancy free getaways