Thrill-seekers get exciting Soweto experience from landmark cooling towers

SOWETO, South Africa -- Thrill-seekers get a breathaking vantage point on Soweto from two 300-foot-high cooling towers -- especially when they swing by a rope suspended far above the ground.

The Orlando Towers dominate the skyline of the South African townships. The east tower is painted with colorful scenes of township life, including a giant picture of one-time Soweto resident and former president Nelson Mandela.

An adventure center that opened here Saturday has strung a high wire between the two with a rope hanging like a pendulum from the center.

Brave members of the public can ride a cage lift up the outside of the west tower, step onto a small platform and, harnessed to the central rope, jump off the edge.

Jumpers free-fall through the air for a few seconds before the rope pulls taut and leaves them breathless at the view and the thrill.

"It's so scary," said Uyanda Makama, laughing and wiping away tears at the same time Saturday after making one of the first jumps. "But I am so glad I did it. It's wow!"

The adventure center is the brainchild of professional adrenalin junkie Bob Woods, technical director for Skyriders, a company that specializes in jobs that need to be done at great heights.

Rappelling down the towers is offered, and a bungee jump is to open in September. A landscaped climbing wall is also planned.

"We are not only creating a new business venture but are also opening up new doors for people in Soweto who haven't been exposed to this type of experience," Woods said.

Soweto, the sprawling township in the southwest of Johannesburg, was at the center of the fight against apartheid. Today it is being transformed as black South Africans reap the benefits of democracy and a growing economy.

Shopping malls are sprouting up and the adventure center is pa,rt of a project to revamp the nearby disused Orlando power station into a retail and residential complex.

With South Africa hosting the 2010 Soccer World Cup, the center is expected to attract attention to Soweto.

"This is going to bring a lot of people to Soweto," Woods said.

Nonkululeko Mahlangu, 21, grew up in Soweto close to the towers.

"The towers have always been there. I never thought I would be jumping off them," she said. "It's a fantastic experience. You can see everything."

She did her first jump last week and has been back four times. "It's a piece of cake," she said encouragingly.