Safari on an elephant's back

25. Experience sunrise in the Kalahari Desert
It is fitting that you will have to drive seven hours from Johannesburg to experience the Kalahari. Fitting because if you don't already feel isolated by the distance, you will when you see the orange orb of the sun drifting upward from the flat dry plains of this desert. Tswalu Kalahari is South Africa's largest private game reserve, covering more than 100,000 hectares. While you're here, be sure to peer into the world of the meerkat. The Kalahari is one of the few places in South Africa you can see these furry sentinels and the colony will scurry to the surface to sus you out.

24. Watch whales and their calves
The difference between whale-watching in Australia and South Africa is that the latter offers unrivalled sightings from land. That's right, seasickness not included. Hermanus on the Western Cape is considered one of the world's best land spots to see whales breach, tail-wave and splash. Better still, Hermanus is just over an hour's drive from Cape Town. From June to October Humpback and Southern Right whales head from Africa's southern shores to have their calves. Some 12km of Hermanus is taken up by a coastal cliff walk that gives visitors spectacular views of whales in the coves below or just beyond the waves.

23. Kloofing in the Blyde River Canyon
Jumping and leaping over waterfalls or cliffs into pools makes this a real life Bear Grylls expedition. Kloofing, known as canyoning to those outside South Africa, is the thrill of using ropes, harnesses and fitness skills to follow a river through the mountain rock. Blyde River Canyon is the ideal place to kloof thanks to its warrens of waterways between monolithic rocks. Kitted out in life jackets and helmets, kloofers jump from heights of up to eight metres into rivers – if you're going to jump, it may as well be into pristine mountain spring water. If the leap is too scary for you, there tend to be walking routes that provide alternative access points to the pools.

22. Surf Jeffreys Bay
Along South Africa's Eastern Cape is this surfing mecca. The waves are head-high (once you're up and standing, that is) and curl like a scoop of ice cream. The right hand point break at Jeffreys Bay has consistently fast tunnels that delight short board surfers time and time again. Super Tubes is the best place to ride and the name says it all, with row after row of perfectly aligned barrels. For variety, other surf spots are Magna Tubes, Albatross, Boneyards and Kitchen Windows. The Billabong Pro world tour event is held in Jeffreys Bay each July. Despite being a legendary surf spot, it isn't jam packed either. You can learn to surf here – and what a way to start your career – at one of the greatest breaks on earth. If you'd rather fly across the water than carve it up, Jeffreys Bay also offers kite surfing.

21. Safari on an elephant
When you are on safari, you'll have this discussion time and time again, over lantern-lit dinners and in the quiet periods between game sightings. It starts with a question: just who is the king of the African bush? If you were to believe Disney, you'd opt for the lion. If you believe David Attenborough, it would be the elephant. With strong family ties, matriarchal societies, one hundred year life spans and mourning rituals that would bring a tear to any cynic's eye, I would argue it's the elephant. They are also a very safe mode of transport on safari, as while they are not king of the food chain, robust healthy elephants have no predators. At Pilanesberg Elephant Back Safaris, orphan elephants are used to guide you through the wilds to spot the game of the African bush – a most unique and enthralling way to do so.

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