SANDBOARDING IN HERMANUS, SOUTH AFRICA

Hermanus and Cape Town regions are the playground for those who wish to live life to the fullest.

Sandboarding is one such activity that will have your heart pumping, while you master the simple skills of zooming down a sand dune at full speed.

There are 2 sand dunes within easy reach of Hermanus. 1 is a small gentle slope of about 100 metres that runs literally into the sea. The other is the mighty slopes that run at about 45 to 60 degrees, of some 300 to 400 metres long.

The 2nd location is so good that the annual South African Sandboarding competition is help there. Paragliders have also been known to take-off from these dunes as the slopes can be very acute.

Percy Tours supply all the sandboarding equipment needed, as well as large cooler boxes of soft drinks, snacks, sun umbrellas, comfy deck chairs and we will even video tape your eventful adventuring.

If you have good balance or have ever done snowboarding then this sport is easy to master. You first wax down your board before each descent of the dunes. Then lightly dust it down with dry sand. With the board under your arm, you now climb up the sand dune to the desired height. Sit down and strap the board to your feet. It is very wise to be wearing a pair of socks, so as to stop the straps rubbing onto the top of your feet.

Now slowly push yourself up to stand up and turn yourself 90 degrees, so that your sandboard is now pointing down the dune. It doesn’t really matter which end of the board it is, as the boards are the same either way. Bend your knees slightly, put your body weight onto your back foot and point your front shoulder in the direction that you wish to go.

Usually your first descent is slow, with a few falling-over-sessions into the sand too, but after these first few runs you will be much more competent and will climb the sand dune to newer and further heights to achieve longer and faster runs.

One great additional activity is to dig out sand jumps, by piling up a small mound of sand. These now provide you with some excellent aerial jumping displays.

Obviously by the end you are covered head to toe in sand, so let Percy do all your camera work of you zipping down the sand dune and then it’s off to a refreshing river to cool off and splash about.

 

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