The High Life - Helicopter over the Cape

Sitting at a Victoria & Alfred Waterfront cafe in Cape Town you cannot fail to notice the stream of helicopters buzzing in and out of the harbour like demented worker bees. It is impossible not to look up and wonder who is inside and where they are going.

Flying in a helicopter is akin to removing yourself from the real world for a short while and becoming a mere spectator. There is a certain feeling of superiority as you look down upon the busy ants nest of activity from which you have just temporarily escaped.

Skyscrapers Turn to Lego

Inside the swift bubble-shaped helicopter you appear as mere specs at the window to those below, and your waving hands go unseen. As the chopper gains height for a full view of Cape Town's city, confined within the natural bowl formed by mountain and ocean, those 'doing lunch' below fade to insect proportions and even the biggest yachts look like bath tub toys and the skyscrapers turn to lego.

Naked Sun Worshipers

Eye to eye with the pinnacle of Lion's Head granite rock, only the paragliders are privileged to the same view and must be carefully avoided by the pilot who has much finer control than the brightly coloured parachutes.

He veers away to hug the coastline, flying high over the populated areas such as the promenade joggers of Seapoint and those dressed to thrill in trendy Camps Bay. A discreet height is maintained over the naked sun worshippers of Sandy Bay who have walked far for their chance to bare all in privacy.

The back seat tittering audibly changes to one of disbelief as the passengers once again look ahead and the pilot appears to be making straight for the rock face of the Sentinel Mountain. He swoops down just in time as a faint whiff of guano rises to the nostrils.

The reason is immediately below on Seal Island where thousands of lazy Cape Fur Seals do not bat an eyelid or budge from their slumber as the chopper hovers over them. In their thousands they grunt and fight and make a tasty morsel for the Great White Sharks who frequent these oceans.

Spotting Whales and Dolphins

Flying just metres above the sand of Noordhoek's 8km beach you are likely to see dolphins leaping the waves beneath you. Circling and hovering above whales and dolphins, able to see their whole form gracing the ocean rather than just the odd fin, is thrilling and can be best experienced between July and November each year when the whales travel thousands of miles to the Cape to mate and give birth.