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If you've ever struggled with pull-ups at the gym, or dreaded the monkey bars in the school playground, look away now.
South African athlete Thomas van Tonder is preparing to take the humble monkey bars to new heights when – on 26 or 27 October, weather permitting – the Red Bull athlete will attempt to become the first person to swing their way along 600 monkey bars suspended beneath the famous Bloukrans Bridge on the Garden Route.
Yes, it’s that Bloukrans. The one where adrenaline-seekers strap into a bungy cord and take a leap of faith. The bridge that flies 216 metres above the Bloukrans.
Those 600 bars will mean can Tonder has to tackle 280 metres of swinging and climbing, all while dangling high above the Bloukrans River.
And as if that weren't difficult enough, those bars don’t go in a straight line. Rather, the specially engineered track follows the curved arch of the bridge, meaning van Tonder must first climb a steep incline – 45-degrees! – swing across the highest point and then carefully control his descent towards the opposite end.
"The initial incline is so steep that I can't do it facing forward, in what we call the forward swinging position," explains van Tonder. "I literally have to turn my body around facing backwards, pull myself up, and then reach for the next bar."
But van Tonder is no stranger to crazy feats of endurance. He was crowned 100-metre obstacle course racing world champion in 2019 and, in 2020, set a Guinness World Record for the fastest 50-metre rope climb – strung between the Orlando towers in Soweto – completing the feat in just three minutes and 19.68 seconds.
But Bloukrans Bridge is an entirely different challenge.
"The gradient is also extremely difficult, especially at the start. It's a, which is really steep," says van Tonder. "People underestimate it; even I underestimated it."
Which means: practice.
For the past six months, van Tonder has been preparing on a purpose-built training rig at his home, where he's installed almost 50 metres of monkey bars to simulate the challenge. But even that ambitious training course is only a fraction of the distance he'll need to cover beneath Bloukrans.
And while the initial climb promises to be punishing, reaching the top of the arch will bring little relief.
"The middle part would have been the easier part, but it isn't, because of how fatigued the muscles are by the middle section," says van Tonder. "It's also the scariest part, because you're the highest off the ground. When we tested the middle section, it was mentally really hard to stay composed and not get carried away by how exposed you are, especially since most of the time you're hanging on a single hand."
By the time van Tonder reaches the downhill section, his grip strength and endurance will already have been pushed to their limits. And while going down might sound easier than going up, the steep gradient presents another problem: gravity.
"I now have to catch myself every time I move to the next bar, so I don't build up too much momentum, go too fast, rip my hands off the bar, and fall," he explains. "Towards the finish, it's a very steep drop, and it's quite challenging to force yourself to go slowly enough to actually grab the next bar."
Installing the bars
Making the challenge possible has required some impressive engineering of its own. Cape Town-based Vertical Safety Systems has designed and installed a five-tonne structure made up of roughly 100 individual truss sections, each secured to the bridge using heavy-duty straps.
The installation requires no drilling or permanent fixtures, allowing the entire course to be dismantled without leaving a trace on the landmark bridge.
For van Tonder, however, the biggest uncertainty is not the engineering but his own ability to keep going when exhaustion sets in.
"I know I can probably do about 40 to 50 metres in one go, but beyond that I don't know, because we've never done it," he admits. "We'll have to see on the bridge."
Want to watch the action?
Red Bull Bridge Bars is scheduled for 26 October 2026, with 27 October reserved as an alternate date in case of poor weather.
The attempt will be broadcast live on YouTube from approximately 10am South African time, although the start time remains subject to change.
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