Home / Africa Blog / What is Deep Water Soloing?

What is Deep Water Soloing?

The mind boggles as to what deep water soloing could be … see if you can guess which is the right answer from the four options below:

a)    Diving under the water with no apparatus?
b)    Diving by yourself in the vast ocean without telling anyone?
c)    Climbing up a rock face without a harness or safety equipment and plummeting into a deep pool of water when you lose your grip?
d)    Getting into trouble with your partner, friend or wife and finding yourself in deep water…

The answer is (c)! That’s right, sounds like suicide right? Well not if you are an adrenalin junkie – they just always seems to come up with the strangest of ideas to fill the time with, and have an amazing amount of pure guts!

Care to join them? Here’s how:

One usually has to go on a fairly long hike to reach the perfect place to climb, and fall! One of the places in South Africa where you can do this is along the Orange River between Oewerbos (the Felix Unite camp site) and the Growcery (the Umkulu camp site). The stretch of rock is quite short, but steep with pockets of limestone that plummet into the warm water. There are some great routes to climb and you can choose how high you want to go before releasing your grip and free-falling into the water below.

Deep water soloing really tests your strength and climbing ability, without the dangers of free-falling onto a hard surface. It is unlikely that you will have the strength to climb so high that your fall may be deemed dangerous, but it also takes common sense and some advice from seasoned climbers as to when you should let go.
As with any climbing – please do not attempt to do this alone and always ensure you have an emergency number available should anything go wrong. Happy plummeting!

deep_water_soloing

(Image)

About Bronwyn Paxton

Article by: Bronwyn Paxton
on April 29, 2014
Filed under  Adventure Activities • Africa Blog 
African Overland Tours Experts
  • First-hand experience
  • Advice and guidance
  • We're passionate travelers

Enquire Now

FEATURED POSTS

How many species of lions are there?

How many species of lions are there?

How many species of lions exist? There is actually only one species – the Panthera leo, however, there are several sub-species of lions which you may not know about. So when you head off on your...

Best time to visit Africa for Weather & Viewing

Best time to visit Africa for Weather & Viewing

When is the best time to visit Africa? If you’re planning to tour to Africa then it helps to know what the best time to visit Africa. Africa’s landscape is as diverse as it's expansive, with each...

The Top 10 Deadliest Animals in Africa

The Top 10 Deadliest Animals in Africa

When you’re travelling on a safari through Africa, chances are you’ll spot a rather large variety of animals – not all of which are really as adorable as they appear. Though these animals are hardly...

  • Blog categories

  • Contact us

    UK  +44 80 0098 8010

    USA  +1 888 815 2423

    AUS  +61 1800 768 149

    SA  +27 21 448 0997

    Email  info@africanoverlandtours.com

     

    Local Time in South Africa

    We’re Here To Help

    Having traveled extensively on all our routes in Africa we are able to narrow down the best options based on our experience and knowledge and guide you through the best possible options for your incredible African Overlanding experience.

    African Overland Tours is owned by Escape 4 Africa Travel.

    We are SATSA Bonded (Southern Africa Tourism Services Association) and SATIB insured (Safari and Tourism Insurance Brokers, providing financial protection with all monies paid

    We have a 24 hour emergency number.

    We offer a Price Beat Guarantee.

  • 0 Comments