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8BusinessDay www.businessday.co.za Wednesday 19 April 201 7

LI FEWhere wild fantasies come alive• The UltimatePl a y g r o u n doffers visitors achance to testthemselves

Nick Wilson

It felt like we had beeninserted into a scene fromFrancis Ford Coppola’sApocalypse Now as weheard the whirring rotor

blades coming from a fair dis-tance behind us. It wasn’t longbefore we caught a glimpse ofthe helicopter and saw its gun-ners, who were baying for blood— our blood.

I had always prided myselfon being a rugged South Africanmale full of derring-do. I grewup in Uitenhage, SA’s Detroit, sosurely was deserving of somesort of manliness medal. I hadeven visited Despatch a coupleof times and been on the receiv-ing end of a number of beatings.

Do e s n ’t being a journalistautomatically make yourugged? I have earned mystripes and have always secretlyhoped for the grudging respectof my idol, legendary tough guyactor Steve McQueen, had hestill been alive.

Surely, I would be preparedfor anything out in the wild? Butmy skin was crawling and I hadan anxious knot in the pit of mystomach. What in the world hadI let myself in for?

It was only a paintball gamebeing played by journalists andtour operators. How painfulcould it be? Quite. Especiallywhen the paintballs are beingfired at you from a helicopterand you have to try to evadebeing shot while racing aroundon a quad bike.

My trepidation gave way toexcitement as the game pro-gressed and soon I was confi-dently speeding about on thequad bike yelping every nowand again as a paintball hit me.

The biggest thrill was whenwe swapped roles and I wasafforded the opportunity tobecome the hunter in the heli-copter (minus its doors), a i m i ngmy paintball gun spitefully,while remembering some of themore painful hits I had received.Unfortunately, I am a terribleshot and only managed a coupleof feeble hits.

The luxury Leobo PrivateReserve, situated on an 8,000haestate in the Waterberg area ofLimpopo, is the only place inSA — and very likely the world —where Heli Paintballing canbe played.

It is one of the extremeadventure activities offered

under the reserve’s recentlylaunched brand, Ultimate Play-ground. Other activities includeskydiving from helicopters, 50-calibre BMG target-shooting andtactical military simulations withassault rifles.

Guests can go on safari onquad bikes. Traditional gamedrives are also on offer to seehippo, giraffe, plains game, buf-falo and le o p a r d . There is also alone crocodile called Stevie onthe property.

home for his family when theyvisited SA each year. Sweet,who is renowned for his devil-may-care adventurer’s spirit,was a member of the team thatwon the Scott Dunn Polar Chal-lenge in 2005 — a 563km raceacross the Arctic Circle to themagnetic North Pole.

Leobo has been commercial-ly available since 2012. It con-sists of Leobo Lodge — w h ic hincludes eight one-bedroomluxury chalets and a two-bed-room family chalet — and theObservatory, which serves asthe Sweet family’s private housewhen they are in the countryand which accommodates sixadults and three children.

What gives The Observatoryits charm is the fact that Sweet’seccentricities can be seeneverywhere. His love ofastronomy is a main feature ofthe residence, with a beautifuldome that houses the astro-nomical observatory.

Guests can book a lecturewith fascinating physicist andastronomer Dr Phil Calcot, wholives in the Waterberg, todescribe the heavens above.

Underneath the dome is adouble-storey library with anopen fireplace. Designed byaward-winning architects SilvioRech and Lesley Carstens, thesumptuous Observatory prop-erty includes some unusual arti-facts including an old disarmed

AK-47 transformed into a pieceof art, a wallet made of hu m a nskin and a real human skull.

Sw e et ’s humour and sense offun is immediately apparent asyou enter Leobo. The entrancehas a large sign hilariouslywarning of the terrible fates(including pictures) awaitingwould-be trespassers. Not onlywill you face death from hippo,crocodile, snake, shooting,drowning and lethal injection,but you will be liable for pros-ecution afterwards.

Guests at Leobo dictate theschedule, choosing each daywhat they want to do. That couldmean lazing around the swim-ming pool, flinging themselvesout of a chopper or honing theirshooting skills at the gun range.

I was found wanting with a9mm pistol on the range. I ner -vously waited my turn to shoot,listening intently to Leobo oper-ational manager Tom Stewartexplain the safety procedures.

Our group consisted mostlyof women and I watched as oneafter another they fired off fan-tastic shots, hitting key areas ofthe human silhouette target.When it was my turn, my mouthwas dry and my knees felt a littleweak. Other than firing a pelletgun at tin cans in my folks’ backgarden, I had never fired a realgun in my life.

Boom! The first shot rang outloudly. Even with i ndu s t r i a l

strength ear plugs, the sound ofa gun is loud and unmistakable.Second shot. Then the third shotand fourth.

I walked over to survey thedamage. I have 20-20 vision, sosurely I must have got in somegreat shots, I thought as wepored over the target looking formy bullet holes. There didn’t

seem to be any. Then St ew a r tpointed out one hole on thepaper, way off from the silhou-ette. He was kind enough to sug-gest I may have been responsi-ble for a shoulder glancing shoton the target. Truth be told, I hadseen little plumes of dust kickingup next to the target.

When others in the group

asked me how the shootingwent, I vaguely implied that Ihad got in some good shots. Bu tthe next day, when we had theoption of going to fire s n ip e rrifles, I begged off, saying a 7amwake-up call was too early.

A massage helped me getover the stress of being such apoor shot. I sealed my fate to

wander the earth as a Zeta male,the lowest rung on the ladder ofmanliness. McQueen wouldhave turned in his grave at thesight of me.

● Wilson was a guest of Le o b oPrivate Reserve.

w ilsonn @ bdliv e . co . z a

SMALL BUSINESS

Tiffany Leigh

The mission: Hit five coun-try pubs in one day, scat-tered across the stunning

greenscape of southeastQueensland, Australia.

The closest are 60km apart.How to accomplish it? By heli-copter, of course.

This is the decadent realityconceived by Pterodactyl Heli-copters, a company based inIpswich, whose aim is to pam-per guests with an unforgettablesightseeing experience anddrinking adventure all at once.

It is the perfect time to go,because serious microbrew-eries are popping up all overthe region.

And who wants to drive?A basic tour begins at about

9am when Captain Mike Jarvis,a seasoned pilot with some 35years’ flying under his belt, picksparties of up to three people upat their hotel (or home, if theyard is big enough).

His Robinson R44 will soarup to 5,000m and head towards

Taste of Aussie microbreweries on tailored helicopter tripsthe Scenic Rim Region for thefirst of three pubs and twobreweries that will be visited inseven hours.

As Jarvis explains: “I’ve beendoing this forever; I’m nospring chicken, but everytime we lift off, it’s a bloody awe-some experience.”

Before putting on beer gog-gles, pull out the bi no c u l a r s :Jarvis will point out notablesights, including the mountainsof the rim and the volcanic peakTa m b o r i ne Mo u nt a i n .

Visible on the flight are Lock -yer Valley, an area rich in fertilef a r m l a nd ; and the oldest man-made overpass in Queensland:Dickabram Bridge, built in 1886and located in the town of Miva.

If Jarvis sweeps low, walla -bies and kangaroos can bespotted. Koalas are tough to seefrom the air.

“[Spottings of] koalas are rarebecause they’re typically privateand quiet guys,” Jarvis says.

And if drinking is not the toppriority, because, say, more thantwo-thirds of the region’s famed

Great Barrier Reef has beenbleached of its colour by risingsea temperatures, take amoment from supporting thelocal small-business economyto soar over the aquatic marveland gain knowledge about thechanges first-hand.

“We ’re all about customisa-

t io n ,” says Jarvis. “So, if there issomething of importance foryou to experience and learnabout, w e’ll make your priorityour priority.”

The establishments that canbe visited are scattered from theborder of New South Wales,west to Selwyn Range, east to

the glimmering Coral Sea a ndnorth to the towering GlassHouse Mountains. They are allincluded on the tour (or similardrinking outposts — the listrotates), as well as a lunch withlo c a l ly sourced ingredients inscenic Harrisville.

“The list is always changing

because we want to showcaseall the talented microbreweriesthat have popped up in the lastcouple of years. Mates here aretaking their beer very seriouslythese days — from the traditionalto the experimental [t h i n k carrotbeer],” Jarvis says.

The Dugandan Hotel to

which Jarvis flies tourists in thetown of Boonah is consideredone of the oldest in southeastQueensland. “The Dugie” hasserved up thirst-quenching sudsto coal miners and railwayworkers, but nowadays it iscontentedly offering tourists andlocals a pint or three.

The Royal Hotel Harrisville ismore than 150 years old. Theallegedly haunted “ho u s e” issupposedly frequented by ashadowy female figure whoroams the pub’s kitchen at night.But worry not, heli-based visi-tors will be drinking in the reas-suring comfort of daylight.

The Scenic Rim Brewery is afamily-run brewery that pridesitself on locally sourced ingre-dients. Its Fat Man Maroon Ale isa palate-pleasing brew with aslightly bitter finish.

The Bearded Dragon pubdoes not only offer accommo-dation. It is located on 44ha offarm and bushland and boastsskyline vistas of TamborineMountain. More importantly, itspub offers 15 beers on tap.

While visiting this wateringhole, try the Beard on Beard, itsown in-house creation; as anAustralian pale ale, it offers easysipping with notes of grapefruit,passion fruit and a delicatehoppy finish.

Four Hearts Brewing Pump-yard Bar & Brewery, typicallyreserved as the finale of thetour, is a local microbrewerylocated in a 100-year-old tech-nical college. It was also theoriginal site for the supply ofwater to the City of Ipswich —hence the name.

It has nine different beers, butsince the rule with PterodactylHelicopters is one pint per loca-tion, opt for the Ipswich Chal-lenger — a bronze medal winnerin the 2016 Australian Interna-tional Beer Awards. It is a lightale with a crisp vibrancy andnotes of mandarin, green tea andwarm spices.

Those who are thirsty formo r e need only book about amonth in advance with CaptainJarvis, who will craft a person-alised itinerary. /Bl o o m b e rg

Day -tripping :Guests aretreated to ah e l i co pte rs i g htse e i n gex perienceand drinkingadventure inone. /Su pplied

THE PLAYGROUND ISAIMED ATCO RP O RATESOFFERING STAFFINCENTIVES ANDTEAM BUILDING

For the less adventurouswho prefer to lounge around,there are massages, he at e dswimming pools, a Jacuzzi anda sauna.

The Ultimate Playground isaimed at corporates o f fe r i ngstaff incentives and team build-i ng . Families and groups offriends who crave anadrenaline-fuelled getaway witha difference are also welcome.

Leobo Private Reserve is thebrainchild of UK ITentrepreneur Rory Sweet, whoinitially chose the Leobo site as a

Two speeds:Star-gazing isa special treatafter the sungoes down atLeobo PrivateReserve, topleft, whileduring theday there isshooting atthe gunrange, above,or lazing bythe pool, right./Su pplied