Areena Riverside Resort caters for the whole family

“Help,” I heard a voice calling.

Only, it wasn’t the voice of a human being.

It was the call of a peacock (you KNOW that sound), travelling up from the valley far down below as we prepared to go ziplining.

Still, pretty apt – the call for help – considering I was on the point of chickening out of my first ever ziplining experience.

Areena Riverside Resort’s location, on the banks of Kwelera tidal river 23km east of East London, is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the Eastern Cape’s status as the “Adventure Province”.

An idyllic resort that caters to the entire family, the 350ha resort has wildlife (and very popular with human beings, a not-so-wild giraffe Abby), play facilities and pools for the children, and several activities including abseiling and obstacle courses to keep the adrenaline and fitness junkies happy.

To end off our tour of the Wild Coast, our hosts arranged ziplining and a quad bike ride.

First up was the ziplining.

The resort has 10 lines – the longest 153m and the highest 70m.

I hesitated before tackling the first line and as soon as it was over, I was glad I’d done it and couldn’t wait to do the next.

And so it carried on for the next few lines.

Time did not allow us to complete all 10.

The quad bike ride the next morning felt tame compared to our adrenaline-inducing ziplining, but was still enjoyable.

It was while on the ride that we came across the resort’s most famous resident – the “star attraction” Abby.

A hand-reared male giraffe, Abby has free reign of the property but has gravitated towards the entrance in the hopes of encountering people.

“His kisses are legendary and many a Facebook profile picture consists of an individual getting a sloppy kiss from Abby,” reads an entry on a page on the resort’s website dedicated to Abby.