The High Life - Helicopter over the Cape

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.

Some experiences are the prerogative of the helicopter pilot and passengers alone and cannot be repeated by mere bipeds. One such is careering along the jagged road, cut into the mountainside of Chapman's Peak with a sheer drop to the ocean on one side and vertical rock face on the other.

As if following a high speed car chase the helicopter twists and turns then drops over the edge to look at an unfortunate mangled car that missed the bend and fell to a nasty end on the rocks below.

Dropping Over the Edge of Table Mountain

More sedately, the chopper heads inland and climbs steadily through the hidden wooded gorge behind Table Mountain to glide low over the flat top whisking the fragile table cloth of cloud into an egg-white lather.

Suddenly the tabletop disappears and the helicopter drops over the invisible edge inciting incredulous gasps and even fully blown screams which last only a matter of seconds as the vista of Cape Town pans out in front of you.

The pilot will temper his flying to the disposition of the passengers and will happily hover along for a quiet scenic flight. But, if those on board like an adrenaline rush he will oblige with a ride to rival any roller coaster. Bronte Heinrich is Sport Helicopter's most experienced pilot having flown all over the world clocking up over 4,000 hours in the air, which equates to hovering in space for half a year.

'There are old pilots and bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilots' says Heinrich, 'and I intend to grow old!' he assured me. That was not enough assurance for one man who refused to accompany his wife and friends on their pleasure flight, reasoning that he would go on a boat because he could swim, but would not go in a helicopter because he could not fly.

I had no such qualms and put total trust in the pilot who turned out to be as good as his word. Anyway it seems that if a helicopter's engine fails, the rotor blades will keep on turning and the pilot can fly you engineless down to earth as he has been trained to do. Still the man declined.