From the metal bars of the shark cage to those of prison, this is the unmissable top five bucket list for South Africa. Tomorrow we crown the winner.

5. Dive with sharks

If bucket lists are all about stepping out of your comfort zone, no activity fits the bill quite like confronting a great white shark. On the one hand, you invite danger by teasing the ocean's greatest predator with food, but on the other, you do it from the safety of a metal cage. Once in the water the sharks are drawn by an expert bait handler with a tuna smeared lure. In the south of the country, the fishing villages of Gansbaii and Kleinbaai are the best places to scare yourself silly.  

Unfortunately, great whites are becoming increasingly endangered. Asia's appetite for shark-fin soup has meant that populations are shrinking each year. So not only is this an adrenalin pumping encounter, it may also be a very rare one for future generations.

South Africa has paved the way for cage diving and it remains the ultimate destination to tick this activity off your bucket list. It's also likely that you will encounter the other marine big five –  in addition to sharks you may also see dolphins, whales, seals and penguins.

To assuage any fears you might have, Marine Dynamics Shark Tours operators assure divers that in 15 years of business a great white shark has never shown anything more than cautious curiosity towards wetsuit clad humans. And while on the water, a trip to Shark Alley may also be included, weather permitting. This is a shark feeding ground, as the shallow channel is home to around 60,000 seals – an irresistible dining opportunity for great whites.

4. Drive from Durban to The Drakensberg

Durban is renowned for its beaches but once you see the mountains you'll view KwaZulu Natal province in a new light. Less than an hour's drive from Durban you will find yourself in the Valley of 1000 Hills, but it feels like more. Everywhere you look, mounds of earth make each angle fascinating and the same view is in constant flux, transformed by the sun. Next on the itinerary is the mighty Drakensburg mountain range, known as Ukhahlamba in Zulu, which means barrier of spears. Beyond being the tallest in South Africa the mountains inspire with green grassland offset by dark basalt peaks. It is here that the highest concentration of rock art south of the Sahara remains, a testament to the San people who lived here for thousands of years and left behind 35,000 images.

3. Tackle Table Mountain

The locals say that the mountain has laid her tablecloth ready for dinner when the white clouds cover her up. Such is Capetonians relationship with their majestic Table Mountain. You can't avoid her, she looms over you at ever angle.  There are two ways to tackle her: via cable car or via walking trail. The cable car takes a mere five minutes between station stops and the floor rotates so as to give all passengers a wraparound view, including the rock face of the mountain itself. If you hike, you're in for a slog that is almost as breathtaking as the scenery. It was Table Mountain that drew ships to South Africa, such was her prominent shape, visible through even the stormiest of seas. Table Mountain is a natural wonder of the world so you'll kill two birds in one with this bucket list destination.

2. Visit Robben Island

It's hard to imagine how visiting a prison could be an uplifting experience. But the basic cells on Robben Island manage to deliver just that. For it was in this spartan environment that Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 18 of the 27 years of his detention. To emerge from such confinement almost three decades later and lead South Africa to its proudly multicultural modern state is testament to the power and drive of both the man and the human spirit. In 1997 Robben Island became a national museum to commemorate the country's road to democracy. The prison also held other black political prisoners and tours are led by former inmates, making the experience a personal one. One guide, Sparks, was imprisoned at just 17 years of age and was counselled in the spirit of forgiveness by Mandela himself. Visit and be inspired.