Thomas van Tonder Takes on 600 Monkey Bars
26 October @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
600 Monkey Bars, 216 Metres Up: Thomas van Tonder’s Biggest Challenge Yet
What does it take to chase a dream when even you aren’t sure you can achieve it? For South African obstacle course racing (OCR) world champion Thomas van Tonder, the answer involves more than 600 monkey bars, months of gruelling preparation and a crossing suspended beneath one of the country’s most spectacular landmarks.
On 26 October 2026, van Tonder will attempt to conquer the Red Bull Bridge Bars course beneath Bloukrans Bridge in the Eastern Cape, 216 metres above the Bloukrans River. The challenge will test not only his physical limits but also his willingness to embrace uncertainty in pursuit of something extraordinary.
This isn’t just another extreme sports spectacle. It’s a story about ambition, resilience and what happens when you deliberately choose the harder road.
A Course Designed to Push Human Limits
Spanning the 451-metre bridge’s dramatic arch, the course features more than 600 suspended monkey bars that follow the structure’s natural curves. Instead of offering a straightforward horizontal crossing, the route forces van Tonder to climb uphill, traverse the flatter crown and descend the opposite side.
Each section presents a different physical battle. The ascent demands pulling power, the middle tests endurance, and the descent requires sustained control as fatigue sets in.
For someone who has competed across four continents and previously set a Guinness World Record with a rope climb between Johannesburg’s Soweto Towers in 2020, this is unfamiliar territory.
Van Tonder could have chosen a more manageable route. Instead, he deliberately selected the version that nobody around him could confidently say was achievable.
His reasoning is simple: if a challenge doesn’t push him into the unknown, it might not be worth pursuing.
Fatherhood Has Changed the Meaning of the Challenge
Behind the athletic ambition is a more personal motivation. Becoming a father has reshaped how van Tonder thinks about achievement, responsibility and the example he sets for others.
Rather than simply telling people to work hard and follow their dreams, he wants them to witness what that commitment looks like in practice.
The preparation itself has become part of the message. Months of specialised training have exposed weaknesses he hadn’t fully addressed, particularly in his upper body. Injuries, including persistent elbow tendonitis and shoulder pain, have added another layer of difficulty.
Even standing beneath Bloukrans Bridge for the first time brought a reality check. The structure looked far more imposing in person than it did on camera.
For young South Africans navigating their own ambitions, that honesty matters. Progress doesn’t always look like confidence, and pursuing a goal doesn’t mean having every answer before taking the first step.
Sometimes, growth begins with admitting that you’re not ready yet.
The Engineering Behind the Adrenaline
While van Tonder prepares to put his strength and endurance to the test, a specialist team faces a challenge of its own: building a safe course beneath a major bridge without permanently altering the structure.
Richard Lievaart, head of rigging and safety director at Vertical Safety Systems (VSS), has overseen the technical work required to make the crossing possible.
The installation cannot rely on drilling into or bolting equipment directly to the bridge. Instead, the team has developed a temporary rigging solution with two independent safety systems: a rail system secured to the bridge’s truss and a separate safety line connected directly to van Tonder.
The engineering is a reminder that extreme sports achievements rarely happen through individual effort alone. Behind every athlete pushing boundaries is a network of people whose planning, expertise and decisions help make the seemingly impossible achievable.
Safety, in this case, is not a supporting detail. It is fundamental to the entire project.
Red Bull Bridge Bars: When and Where to Watch
The main attempt is scheduled for 26 October 2026 at Bloukrans Bridge in the Tsitsikamma region of the Eastern Cape.
The crossing will be livestreamed on YouTube and Red Bull TV. If weather conditions prevent the attempt on the scheduled date, 27 October 2026 has been set aside as the contingency date.
Follow @redbullza on social media for updates and livestream timings in the days leading up to the attempt.
Why This Challenge Matters Beyond the Bridge
Van Tonder’s goal extends beyond completing an extraordinary obstacle course. He hopes the project will encourage people to pursue ambitions that might appear unrealistic, unconventional or even strange to those around them.
That message resonates in a country where young people are constantly finding creative ways to build careers, develop skills and create opportunities despite uncertainty and limited resources.
Not every dream requires 600 monkey bars or a crossing hundreds of metres above a river. But every meaningful ambition demands some combination of preparation, persistence and the courage to keep going when the outcome isn’t guaranteed.
Whether van Tonder completes the crossing or not, his preparation has already demonstrated something important: pursuing a difficult goal can reveal strengths, weaknesses and possibilities that comfort never will.
On 26 October, South Africa will watch one athlete take on a remarkable physical challenge. The bigger question is what the rest of us might be inspired to attempt once we see him reach for the other side.
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