The Rope Adventure officially opens on August 1 at uShaka Marine World!
Chief executive officer, Stella Khumalo, announced this week that uShaka Marine World’s new Rope Adventure is set to open on Saturday, August 1st, 2015.
This new park attraction is part of a joint venture between uShaka Marine World and Chimp & Zee, a company set up by members of the SA adventure tourism industry to design, build and operate rope courses, zip lines, aerial adventure parks, climbing structures and free fall devices across South Africa.
The uShaka Rope Adventure course consists of a series of rope bridges, obstacle courses, climbing nets, zip lines and crossings that will be suitable for all ages.
The trail starts from the Village Walk and travels over the scenic Sea World and uShaka’s signature phantom ship. Khumalo said that the elevated nature of this attraction allows uShaka to make maximum use of the space available as well as emphasise the beautiful views over Durban’s Golden Mile and Point Waterfront.
The facility built at uShaka features two courses – one for children and the less adventurous, as well as a second for thrill seekers and is estimated that the average person will take about 45 minutes to complete both courses.
The two courses form a rough figure eight, allowing adventurers to continue straight onto the second course after the introductory course, if they wish. The beginner course consists of 18 elements, including two short zip lines over the rocky reef and turtle enclosure tanks. The intermediate course includes 17 elements that are slightly more challenging. It ends with a double zip line off the top deck of the ship and over the snorkel lagoon back to the end point at Village Walk.
Both courses are 100% safe with a continuous clip on once and go system. Each participant wears a full body climbing harness and is attached to a safety cable above their heads as they navigate their way across the swing bridges and obstacles.
Trained guides are on hand to instruct participants on the correct use of the equipment and to also monitor and assist participants.
Khumalo said she was extremely excited about this new feature. “Since uShaka Marine World opened in April 2004, we have constantly introduced new elements into our offering – from new water slides to the Dangerous Creatures exhibition and more. New attractions need to complement the existing uShaka offering whilst still bringing something new to the customer. This is a strong focus for us this year”.
She said that market research had shown a strong move towards adventure tourism with adventure experiences gaining popularity both internationality and in South Africa.
The Rope Adventure is expected to be a major attraction at the park.
“With this attraction being able to operate both during the day and under lights at night, this provides a valuable night time attraction to uShaka’s Village Walk and to Durban as a whole,” Khumalo added.
The Chimp & Zee Rope Adventure ticket and administration office is located in the Village Walk. The attraction will be open between 9am and 9pm (on select days and specifically peak season) and can accommodate between 400 and 500 people per day. Tickets are expected to cost R150 to do the full course. The rope adventure will also be offering special birthday party, corporate bookings and big outings deals. To make a booking contact 031 3321167.
Come visit uShaka Marine World and have a swinging time at Africa’s largest Marine Theme Park.