Outsmarting and outmaneuvering opponents is great holiday fun for kids and adults of all ages. Here are six of the best paintball fields around South Africa.
1. U-TAC,Near Atlantis
If you’re out to re-enact realistic military scenarios, Urban Tactical Paintball is the place to visit. Test your mettle in the village, a hostage bus and various other structures and bunkers to keep you enthralled in life-like missions. Special effects, 48-hour wars and vehicle and chopper insertions are available by prior arrangement. From R200, including gear and 500 paintballs, which is a real bargain. Cell 083-778-9222/111, www.u-tac.co.za.
2. Action Paintball, Durban
Action Paintball proves that Durban has more than just water sports to offer. This venue has four fields to choose from, including two urban fields where you can hide out in broken buildings, a bush field for sneakier ambushes and camouflage lovers, and a speedball field for those who prefer non-stop shooting between inflatable obstacles. From R80 a person. Cell 074-172-1309, www.hillcrestpaintball.co.za.
3. Woods Paintball, Johannesburg
If you’ve never played paintball in the woods (woodsball), it’s about time you gave it a try. The Woods Paintball range has five fields to play in, giving you a shot at outmanoeuvring your buddies in genuine tree-filled and bushy areas, as well as close-quarters combat in more heavily bunkered woods. Plus, it’s conveniently located a 10-minute drive away from Fourways Shopping Mall. From R120 a person, including protective gear. Tel 011-234-5317, www.woodspaintball.co.za.
4. X Paintball, Somerset West
X Paintball is one of the few places that offer scenario paintball with an interesting variety of fields. Marshals provide scenarios and missions to eradicate the boredom of shoot-’em-up paintballing, allowing you to test your strategic and leadership skills. Take your pick from the urban, bush or tyre fields, or play across all three at once. From R100 a person. Cell 073-217-5972, www.xpaintball.co.za.
5. Paintball Heaven, Port Elizabeth
Supercharge a day out with a game of speedball. It’s fastpaced, often leads to closequarters combat, and the thrill of constantly dodging a barrage of paint – including your own balls ricocheting off inflatable obstacles – will leave you (literally) gasping for more. If this isn’t for you though, there are also bush, urban and scrapyard fields. Costs from R65, including gear and 100 balls. Tel 041-366-2134, www.paintballheaven.co.za.
6. Ruins Paintball, Bloemfontein
For a massive amount of fun and chaos a field of appropriate size is required. The large Ruins Paintball field can easily accommodate 100 paintballers or more and offers an urban and bush warfare experience. The sound of more than 100 guns firing all at once on this battlefield will have you believe you’re on the set of a bigscreen war movie. It doesn’t get much better than that. From R70 a person (minimum of 10 people in a group). Cell 083-490-2855, www.ruinspaintball.com.
Post by Michael Maart
