Monday 14 October 2013

Amazing things to do in South Africa

Whenever we think about a destination, we think what can we do there. Same old sight seeings, visiting monuments and beaches. But this post is not about travel 101, this is about what all amazing things that you can do in your travel in South Africa along with the travel default options.

The number one wild and crazy thing that you can do in South Africa is ride an ostrich, you might have tried riding on a horse. Riding on an ostrich is way different than riding on your two wheeler bike. Well, It does have two legs. Riding an ostrich takes a lot of skills but amateurs are welcome to try their luck in Oudtshoorn, in the Karoo. Ostrich farms abound in this semi-desert area of South Africa, there are hundreds of them. Oudtshoorn is the place to master riding this ungainly but strangely attractive, non-flying bird. If you're feeling very confident, there are regular races to be enjoyed as well but you should probably leave those to the professional ostrich jockeys.



You might have seen in movies, surfers riding those big waves and experiencing that excitement thousands of kilometers away in front of your TV. You can try your hand on surfing on South African beaches, feel that rush of riding the waves inside your body. You might want to know that the quality of the surf depends on the size of the swell and the direction of the wind. Hire that waxed surf board and head towards you own maverick to come cruising towards the beach. Afraid to get up, you can just paddle on your board and enjoy your swim and watch others riding.




Hiking is another amazing option, a must try. The Wild Coast, in South Africa's Eastern Cape region, is one of the most beautiful coastlines on earth and much of it is only accessible by foot. There are fantastic natural sights including waterfalls, isolated beaches, untouched forests and rivers. The hike also offers the chance to mix with locals like the Xhosa and the amaPondo.
Strandloper - a 5 day backpacking trail along the southern section of the Wild Coast and Cape Wild Coast where you stay in huts on the beach.
Hole in the Wall Hiking trail - is also a 5 day hike, nights are spent in small hotels, days are spent walking through spectacular mangroves, beaches and over clifftops.
WildCoast Walk offers many hikes on the Wild Coast as well as horseback and canoeing trips.




Swim with animal wearing tuxedo, you can also swim with penguins. Swimming with penguins at Boulders Beach on the Cape Peninsula, near Cape Town, is a real thrill. A small public beach is set apart from the main penguin colony that resides here (on Foxy Beach), but that doesn't stop the penguins from sitting on your beach towel or darting around your legs while you take a refreshing dip in the Ocean. Penguins like to walk about and generally ignore fences. A boardwalk has been built around the dunes so you can get a great close up look at the entire colony eating, breeding, preening, swimming and chatting away.




Meeting great whites without losing your arm or leg.  Cage diving with the Great White Shark is a relatively new adventure sport in South Africa. There are several operators who offer cage diving packages and most of them concentrate around an area known as "shark alley" in Gansbaai, just 2 hours drive from Cape Town. Great White Shark diving is the marine equivalent of seeing the Mountain Gorilla in its natural environment. It's an adventurous and unique opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with a magnificent animal.

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