Fear and loathing in Soweto
The Orlando Cooling Towers in Soweto have been turned into amind-blowing vertical adventure facility and tourist attraction. RobDickens took the leap of faith.
As you stand on the edge of the
abyss, your cranium is awash with both fear and loathing. Fear, because
you're staring at a 40-metre freefall off a 100-metre cooling tower.
Loathing, because you're seriously admonishing yourself for committing
to this seemingly insane act. A rope and harness are immediately
elevated to the two things in life you admire the most, perhaps even
worship obsessively.
Your
sense of perception is being bombarded by the duality of such a
beautiful view, competing with the vertigo of standing on the edge of
this drop? off which you will soon have to leap.
Stepping up to
the jump platform, you get your final instructions and rally your full
mental capacity in order to control your bladder. The ropes clip into
the harness; a sound I have grown to love. It's time. You shuffle
nervously to the edge. Your thoughts seem muffled, a tiny scream in the
back of your brain. You silence it. Right now, it's laser-like focus.
It has to be.
Toes on the edge. Look down 33 storeys.
3, 2, 1, jump!
Your brain explodes into a brilliant white light!
I
think "plummet" is the best word. Plummet towards the planet. In the
right corner of your eye you see the blue, white, black and yellow of
the massive FNB mural flashing past you at a speed that seems
incomprehensible. It's sublime.
Is this really happening? Am I really plummeting towards the ground at this speed?
After
a few heart stopping seconds of freefalling for 40-metres (13 storeys
or so), the rope finally takes! Your fall arrested; you are flung
between the two towers in a giant swinging arc, 60-metres above the
ground, in the middle of space between two gargantuan cooling towers.
Lowered
slowly to the ground once your pendulum swing stops, you will feel pure
exhilaration at the fact that you have just successfully accomplished
the Orlando Towers Power Swing.
Orlando Towers
Opened
in July 2008, the Orlando Towers Vertical Adventure Facility is the
brainchild of Bob Woods - a rope access expert who first experienced
the power and beauty of these towers when commissioned to do
maintenance work. He then had the epiphany that it would be fun to let
people jump off.
The Orlando Power Station was decommissioned
in 1998 after decades of service, once lauded as one of the most
advanced power stations in South Africa. The two cooling towers now
present an incredible 100-metre vertical adventure centre and tourist
location in Soweto, South Africa.
To give you an idea of the
height, consider standing at the top of twin 33 storey buildings, then
leaping off the one and freefalling for 13 storeys, before swinging at
pace, 40 storeys above the ground between the two buildings. It's truly
awe-inspiring.
Just do it!
Currently
offering the Power Swing (swing between the two towers), an internal
swing (freefall and swing WITHIN the one tower), and a mini-zipline
(foefie slide) The adventure experiences will eventually include
swinging, bungee jumping, climbing, abseiling, rap jumping, a zip line
and more.
You can also just pay to just go up and check out the
view or to watch your crazy mates leap off, if you aren't such an
adrenaline junkie. Be warned that the external lift that goes up the
side of the tower is quite an adrenaline rush in itself. If you've ever
seen a cooling tower you will have noticed that they are slightly
concave, which means the lift starts off leaning back towards the
tower, then goes straight as you go up, but near the top it starts
leaning off slightly the other way, towards the ground! Then you leave
the lift and have to walk up about 10 stairs - seemingly floating in
the air with see-through grating, before getting on to the jump deck.
I'd
recommend the experience to everyone, both young and old, scared and
not. The sense of accomplishment and incredible adrenaline rush is more
than worth it. The only limits are medical, weight and age:
Under 18's must have parent/guardian present to sign consent.
Damage
The
damage, besides ruined underrods, is R360. Students with a valid
student card get 10% discount (R324). The Power Swing and the Internal
Swing include a free certificate of completion.
More information can be found on their great website http://www.orlandotowers.co.za
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