This year for Easter break, I went back to Semongkong with my friends Paula, Sarah, Robby and Gloria. We went hiking, hung out, played board games and cards and just relaxed. But the absolutely best part of the trip was abseiling.
Abseiling (also called repelling) is kind of like going down after rock climbing – you are in a harness and there are a bunch of straps, ropes and clamps and you just go down the face of a mountain. Semongkong Lodge operates the longest commercial abseil in the world, the Maletsunyane Abseil, with a 204 m (670 ft) descent next to the Malestunyane Waterfall.
I’m not an adrenaline junkie and I don’t like to be scared, so even though the drop is kind of long, it is absolutely beautiful and totally worth it. There is a training session where you go down a small cliff to practice – they show you how to slow down and go faster, how to stop, and practice with weights to simulate the extremely long rope that is needed to go down the main abseil.
The main abseil was exhilarating. Once you step off the cliff, it actually feels very secure. Because I am so light compared to most people, I actually had to push the rope through the clamps to get myself down – once I was farther down and there was less rope pulling the clamps taught, I was able to go down more easily. But there is also so much to see – the waterfall, being surrounded by cliffs, a gorge, and mountains. The hardest part was probably walking away from the waterfall after the abseil – the rocks were so wet and slippery, I had to use both hands and feet to get to dry land. I got to relax for a little bit, but after we all finished, we had to hike almost straight up the gorge to get back to the top – a good workout. The whole experience was so fun and an amazing vacation highlight.
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| My scared face- stepping of the cliff |
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| Actually fun! |
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| Looking tiny next to the waterfall |
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| Finished! |
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I don’t have a good picture of the entire waterfall…
but me, Paula, Robby and Sarah after we finished |
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| Resting during our hike back up |
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| Part of the hike, once we got to the top of the gorge |
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Awesome!!!! The view in your "scared face" photo is stunning! So is the top of the gorge. I love it!
You and your friends are really hardcore now :P! Miss you! x
Wow, Karly! This is sooo cool!! I was going to ask how you got back to the top! Sounds like an amazing experience and you're right – a go-pro would have been a great thing to have! ha