As the year winds down and South Africans start to plan their holidays, many employers will look at incentives to reward their teams for their work and inspire them to start the new year with gusto. Dawn Weir, Head of kulula work, says team-building can be a constructive and enjoyable way to end the year. “This wonderful country has so much to offer and enjoying time in the glorious sunshine – perhaps with a little adrenaline thrown in – can be the perfect tonic for team morale and cohesion,” she says, and suggests the following activities.
Joburg is the economic centre of SA, so it makes sense that there are opportunities for teambuilding. Beyond Teambuilding offer a variety of indoor and outdoor activities. These include building puppy shelters that are donated to the SPCA, or bicycles that team members build and decorate, which are then donated to disadvantaged children. For many of the youngsters, this will be their first bike. Indoor options include sushi classes, wine-blending or cocktail competitions.
Cape Town in summer is usually hot, clear and windy. Just one way for you and your colleagues to enjoy that weather is sandboarding in the dunes on the West coast. It’s easy to learn and offers a similar thrill to snowboarding or surfing. A few minutes of tuition and you’ll be speeding down the tall white slopes.
If you and your colleagues fancy a road-trip, you could rent a fleet of sidecar motorbikes. You’ll have a chauffeur for half- or full-day tours, or ride the bike yourself on multiday excursions. Weir’s suggestion: a round trip from the city, down the western seaboard, past Hout Bay and Chapman’s Peak to Cape Point, then follow the False Bay coast, through Kalk Bay, Somerset West and the Strand. From there, Clarens Drive leads you along the sea to Pringle Bay. It’s one of the world’s most beautiful stretches of coastline, says Weir.
The Eastern Cape is also famed for its scenic beauty, and you and your team can take in all that majesty on the Otter Trail or one of the area’s other marvellous hikes. For something less strenuous, try a Segway tour of Port Elizabeth’s 
beachfront or the Tsitsikamma forest, with its massive, ancient yellowwood trees. A number of businesses in Port Elizabeth offer horse-riding, either in nature reserves or on the beach.
KwaZulu-Natal is a playground for locals and international visitors, with its long beaches, warm seas, majestic mountains and game reserves. Weir suggests heading south of Durban to Oribi Gorge, near Port Shepstone. A variety of adventure sports are on offer, including a 110m abseil, a 165m swing from Lehr’s waterfall, ziplining and white-water rafting. For something a little more sedate, several charter companies in Durban offer offshore cruises, including deep-sea fishing and sundowner excursions. Sightings of several species of whale, dolphin and other sea-life are common.
Fancy a little environmental activism to go with your teambuilding? A beach clean-up helps change the world for the
better and can save the life of a turtle, seal or some other marine creature, suggests Weir. In Cape Town, contact Clean-C and in Durban KZN Beach Clean-up
Alternatively, you and your team could volunteer at an organization like SANCCOB (The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds) which has seabird rehabilitation hospitals in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town.
