Today we did a canopy tour in the forests of Tsitsikamma! A "canopy tour" is a zipline adventure that refers to the level of forest you zipline through, the "canopy level" being the level just below the top "emergent layer". The Tsitsikamma Canopy Tour is the first of its kind in Africa, and the second in the world after Costa Rica. Originally built to facilitate forest research, canopy tours quickly became a unique tourist attraction, and a really fun way to explore a forest! The Tsitsikamma Canopy tour included ten ziplines of varying lengths and speeds.
Incredibly, none of the equipment actually penetrates the trees, allowing the trees to live and grow with minimal negative effects. Another incredible aspect about the initiative is where the tour fees actually go - after their donations to local employment and educational programs, health (especially AIDS) programs, and wildlife conservation, only 43% of the revenue remains for the tour company! We were quite impressed with this highly social program. After the tour, they even offered a video DVD of our trip as a souvenir, which we gladly bought!
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