Feel the need for
speed? Sandboarding in South Africa DID YOU KNOW? The fastest recorded sandboarding speed is 82km/h, by Erik Johnson. Sandboarding is fast becoming one of the most popular adrenalin activities in South Africa. There are numerous tour operators throughout the country, as well as a number of venues dedicated solely to this activity. Come and test your skills in the sun and sand. Sandboarding is South Africa’s answer to snowboarding. It requires the same skills set and produces roughly the same amount of adrenalin, the only difference is that you ‘eat’ sand instead of snow when you take a tumble. Unlike snowboarding, however, very little specialised clothing and equipment is needed for sandboarding, especially in sunny South Africa. Operators in the country generally use 4X4 vehicles to transport participants to the top of steep dunes and then wish them well as they depart on their speedy descent. Adventure sport enthusiasts can also opt to be pulled behind the vehicles to generate speed on flatter sections of sand.
10
The soft sands found in the Western Cape allow sandboarders to reach considerable speed and to perform a variety of tricks, including twists and jumps, depending on how skilled or adventurous they are. Some of the better sandboarding locations are the dunes in Atlantis, the Silver Sands in Betty’s Bay, Dragon Dune in Vleesbaai, Lagoon Dunes at Langebaan, Nautilus Bay Dunes, as well as the Fish Hoek sand dunes. Peter van Kersen, an extreme sports enthusiast from the Netherlands, tried out sandboarding at the dunes in Atlantis, arranged by Sidewinder Sandboards. He said of the experience: ‘I had done some snowboarding before, so I already had the balance, but some of my friends who came with me had never done anything like this before and they were able to get the hang of it within an hour.’ While sandboarding is most popular in the Western Cape, the activity is also offered on old mine dump slopes in Gauteng province, with Mount Mayhem in Benoni the main location.