Riaan Manser and his family had a wild and wet adventure at Wild Waves Water Park in the Eastern Cape.
Riaan Manser/News24
Riaan Manser visits the Wild Waves Water Park in the Eastern Cape and adamantly asserts its wet wonders are not just for the kids.
Where the wild ones are… It is well known as the “Wild Coast”. But the locals here call it home. This rugged coastline, famous for its shipwrecks and ocean mishaps, is also home to one of Africa’s premier water park, Wild Waves. They advertise it to be as wild as its oceans. I don’t know about that.
You can fly to Durban, or now even Margate, before heading down south to your destination. Before the next hour ticks by, you will have your feet in the splash pool and something cold to drink in your hand. You will also have some sweat running down your back and chest. This place is humid, be prepared!
Driving from Cape Town is only for the adventurous, while driving from Johannesburg is a big investment. It may be better to fly.
The Wild Waters park is on the Sun International property known as the Wild Coast Sun in the Eastern Cape, so access and safe movement around the grounds is extremely organised. There is plenty of parking and signage to make it almost too easy.
You’re able to stay at affordable hotels and guest houses around the town of Port Edward. We stayed at the Wild Coast Sun’s pool-facing apartments. We had a family suite that led onto the open lawns and huge swimming pool that wrapped around their Greek-themed restaurant. If you want the comfort of walking to and from the water park, then this is the ideal place to stay.
Riaan Manser and family had a wild and wet adventure at Wild Waves Water Park in the Eastern Cape.
Riaan Manser
Riaan Manser and family had a wild and wet adventure at Wild Waves Water Park in the Eastern Cape.
Riaan Manser
Riaan Manser and family had a wild and wet adventure at Wild Waves Water Park in the Eastern Cape.
Riaan Manser
Riaan Manser and family had a wild and wet adventure at Wild Waves Water Park in the Eastern Cape.
Riaan Manser
Riaan Manser and family had a wild and wet adventure at Wild Waves Water Park in the Eastern Cape.
Riaan Manser
Riaan Manser and family had a wild and wet adventure at Wild Waves Water Park in the Eastern Cape.
Riaan Manser
Back at the water park, my advice is to get there early. It is a popular place. Children under 14 have to have an adult along for the day, while a height restriction of 1.2m is in place for the more extreme rides. Entrance fees are strictly height- and season-related. Taller than 1.2m is considered an adult, in their evaluation, and off-season does allow for a discounted rate, as one would expect. The in-season rates are R230 and R115, while out-of-season rates are R170 and R85.
The bonus of being a hotel guest is you’re exempt of all fees during your stay. Awesome.
As you enter, you immediately get access to the Spur restaurant and playground while following the path over the bridge lets you into the actual water park.
“Be aware of the pineapple!” is all I can tell the first-time young visitors. It is the main attraction in this first play area for the under-1.2m clientele. This huge thousand-litre cup shaped as a pineapple, tips over every few minutes – with no warning! It’s very exciting.
The usual rides, like fast, whirly supertubes can be expected and also the ever-popular but frightening Aqua Loop – where the platform underneath your feet gives way and you fall directly downwards to gather enough speed to do a full 360-degree loop.
The rides that are most popular are the Boomerango and the Mat Racer. When it gets busy, prepare to wait a minute or two for your turn.
If you’re keen for a bit of relaxation, you can drift down the Lazy River on the large two-seater tubes, and afterwards grab a beer and hotdog at the permanently open canteen.
Riaan Manser and family had a wild and wet adventure at Wild Waves Water Park in the Eastern Cape.
Riaan Manser
Riaan Manser and family had a wild and wet adventure at Wild Waves Water Park in the Eastern Cape.
Riaan Manser
There are plenty of lifeguards on duty to assist and guide you to the facilities.
Getting in early is vital if you’re wanting a specific place to put your gear down under a shade canopy or a special piece of beach or grass. The third day we were there, there was a huge number of local school kids that had been bussed in for the day. It was a bit intimidating, as almost constant chaos abounded. At times, I was unable to even keep visual track of my kids. I would check in with the park management for when these super-busy days are scheduled.
We spent almost every day here, ending off with an early dinner at the hotel poolside restaurant.
If you have never visited the area, I would budget an extra day or two to visit this part of South Africa. It’s very rural and underdeveloped, there is no getting past that, but has an extremely beautiful coast with very friendly people. The bucket-list “Hole in the Wall” rock formation, a few hours’ drive down south, is not to be missed. Standing there in awe at this sight and simultaneously knowing the difficulty tourism in the Eastern Cape is going through will have you scratching your head. This should be on every tourist’s (never mind South African’s) to-do list!
Many people think water parks are destinations predominately for children. Next time you’re at one of these parks, take a look around and you’ll see how rabid the dads get when they are eventually let loose. This is where the real wild ones are!
– Riaan Manser is a pioneering international explorer with multiple world-firsts and has joined the team as the new editor of News24 Outdoors, driven by Ford.
