It's only recently that abseiling has become an activity in its own right. Really it's just the method climbers use to get off mountains - or special services forces use to descend deserted buildings into enemy territory in adventure movies - but it's fun, and so it's become available as an activity in its own right.
You can hang out high over Cape Town abseiling from Table Mountain. The "long drop" is 112m high - and about a kilometre above the city - making it the world's highest commercial abseil.
There are three abseil routes on the spectacular western head at Knysna, further up the Cape east coast - including a really high, very exposed site hanging right out over the crashing waves.
Not far from Knysna, and also with fantastic views, you can do a combination abseiling and kloofing (canyoning) trip down the Storms River Gorge, which involves a 100m abseil into the gorge, a tubing trip down the river, a short walk out of the gorge and then a cycle back to the village.
You can abseil down buildings in Durban and Johannesburg, or even rapp jump if you like. Rapp jumping is abseiling with the ropes attached to your back instead of your front, so you go down facing the ground - and at a run, if you're in a hurry.
To find out more about the above abseils, and a whole lot of others around the country, check out our list of abseil operators - most of whom offer plenty of adventure activities besides.
Operators
180 Degrees Adventures has offices in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, and activities countrywide.
Abseil Africa offers the abseil off Table Mountain, a Kamikaze Kanyon abseiling, kloofing and hiking trip down the Steenbras River Gorge with a 65m abseil through Thunder Falls, and custom-made adventures. Based in Cape Town.
Active Africa Adventure Tours is a Western Cape-based adventure tours covering the full adrenaline spectrum.
Ashanti Travel Centre offers a wide range of packages for the adventure junkies, including abseils off Table Mountain.
Downhill Adventures, based in Cape Town, offers "The Cape Great Eight Adventure Experience". Take your pick from shark cage diving, sandboarding, mountain biking, surfing, tandem skydiving, sea kayaking, quad biking - and abseiling.
Govertical Mountaineering Adventures offers abseiling, climbing, mountaineering, caving, trekking and kloofing in and around the Gauteng area.
Extreme 3 Adventures will take you on the "ultimate extreme sport adventure tour" of South Africa, with activities such as scuba diving, kite surfing, white water rafting, mountain biking, sky diving, power kiting and abseiling.
Oribi Gorge Resort near Port Shepstone in KwaZulu-Natal offers the Wild Swing, a jump from the top of Lehrs falls down 100m into the gorge - at 33 storeys, it's the highest swing in the world. There's also the Wild Abseil of 110m, the first part a 45m cliff abseil - feet against the cliff - with the remaining 65m a free abseil.
Otters Den, a river lodge on an island in the Blyde River Canyon near the Kruger Park, offers whitewater rafting, hot air ballooning, kayaking and abseiling.
Over the Top Adventures offer an interesting abseil over the Howick Falls in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.
Pure Rush Industries is an urban adventure company offering rapp jumping off buildings in Johannesburg.
Roc 'n Rope Adventures are based at the "Restaurant at the End of the Universe crags" in Mpumalanga. This is a popular sport climbing spot that also offers some fun abseils.
S.E.A.L Adventures operates the three abseils off the Knysna Heads. Also check out the Knysna Tourist Centre.
Stormsriver Adventures operate a wonderful, somewhat strenuous trip called the Stormsriver Challenge: abseiling, tubing and mountain biking.
SouthAfrica.info reporter and South African Tourism
