We attended the Gravity Adventure Festival last weekend, held as always on the picturesque Palmiet River estuary near Kleinmond in the Western Cape. Mountains meet sea and river in this unique landscape, providing a quite special setting for all things Adventure. This year hundreds of outdoor enthusiasts (and nutters, including Spiderman and Captain America!!) were there in force, ensuring the Festival’s steady growth year on year.

This Festival is arguably the most fun you can have outdoors in one weekend. It is a celebration of adventure in all forms and has something for everyone to enjoy. For the active types there are various outdoor events: croc downriver racing, whitewater kayaking, adventure racing, trail running, mountain biking, river swimming, and even kids events. For the leisurely types there was a fully stocked bar and all kinds of food available at the Festival Hub and plenty of events to watch throughout the day from the comfort of one’s deck chair, whilst enjoying the fresh air and great scenery.

The Festival Hub is set right on the Palmiet River lagoon and has heaps of camping for revelers who need to be close to the action all the time. There were product stands with all types of outdoor equipment on demo, food stalls offering organic soups and thai green curries plus home-made gluhwein to stave off the chilly night breezes. The nights were also packed with entertainment: a adventure short films competition, Lucky Draw prizes, followed by live music from local band Tribal Echo, legendary amongst Festival regulars, with their unique brand of Afrikaans folk hiphop. Then for those still able to dance more after all the daytime activities, a DJ rocked the dance floor until late, interspersed with live fire displays that dazzled the night skies.

So if you haven’t heard about or been a part of the Gravity Adventure Festival until now, and if you want to see Spiderman in the flesh, don’t miss out next year!! All the details on the Festival website: http://www.adventurefestival.co.za/

Pics courtesy of Kelvin Trautman and Andrew Kellet.