Five of the coolest things to do on a trip to South Africa

Brought to you by South African Tourism

Planning a trip to South Africa any time soon?

When planning our next big trip away, it can be easy to be lured in by the usual suspects. Not that there's anything wrong with spending a few days in a Mediterranean seaside resort, but once you've been to one, you've pretty much been to them all. Why not go for something different this year? By "different," we mean tracking fully-grown lions through the bush or 15-foot great white sharks off the coast by booking flights to South Africa. Don't think you could manage all of that in Benidorm...

Track the Big Five

In case you've never heard of the "Big Five," it's lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants, and Cape buffalo. These are the five main species of wildlife people want to tick off their safari bucket list, and you'd be hard set to find a better place to do it than Kruger National Park. It has been in operation for over 90 years, and believe us when we say the place is better than ever. It's hard for Irish people to imagine the true size of something like Kruger National Park. At 19,633 km2, it's not far off the size of Wales. Wouldn't want to be the one to lock up at night...

Pick up a penguin

OK, please don't literally try to pick up these penguins... Just south of Cape Town is a place called Boulders Beach, which is home to the largest colony of African penguins in the world. Not only are they just as adorable as the ones you'd find in Antarctica, but you also get to avoid having to go to Antarctica. It's cold there.

Shark diving

Again, this is not something you're likely to be doing on every trip. Gansbaai has the densest population of great white sharks on earth, making it one of the best places on the planet to spot the legendary predator. Most people who take the plunge find it a lot less terrifying than it may sound to have a giant fish with 300 teeth swim past. Great whites are a truly incredible, and increasingly rare, breed of fish that are unlike just about anything else on land or sea. Seeing them up close is not something you're going to forget. Gansbaai is also the best place for tracking the Marine Big Five (great white shark, African penguin, southern right whale, cape fur seal, and dolphin).

Hike The Drakensberg

It isn't fair, really. Not only does South Africa have awesome beaches, some of the best wildlife on the planet and a warm climate all year, but it also has vast open mountain ranges that look like something from The Lord Of The Rings. The largest mountain range in South Africa, The Drakensberg forms the spine of the nation. if you go on one of its many hiking routes, you might also spot ancient San rock art in the caves and foothills that dot the massive range. There is also a spot called Sugar Loaf Gap, so it would be interesting to see how County Wicklow holds up against the Drakensberg...

Surf Africa

About an hour's drive west of Port Elizabeth is a place called Jeffrey's Bay. It isn't just one of the best surfing beaches in South Africa, it was voted as the second best in the world a few years ago. Despite its famous name, it's as peaceful a beach as you could hope to find. You won't have to put up with masses of other beach-goers, and the local surf schools are more than happy to help if you're new to this whole surfing malarkey. The beach is broken up into different sections, and it isn't uncommon to ride waves for up to 300 metres.   We've barely scratched the surface of all the incredible things you can do, but Meet Your South Africa today by booking a trip with Irish travel agents GoHop.ie.  Brought to you by South African Tourism