Adventure

If you are a family with older children there are a number of adventure activities to do. In Jeffrey's Bay you could go surfing, white water rafting in Parys or even shark cage diving in Cape Town. Sun City has an adventure centre with clay pigeon shooting, quad biking and archery.

• White water rafting

South Africa is home to some awesome torrential rivers promising thrilling white water rafting adventures. Under professional guidance, even if you are a novice or an expert you can experience hours of enjoyable and challenging adventures.

Probably the most well known river in South Africa, the Orange River, runs through the mountainous desert area known as the Richtersveld. While for the most part, the river is still and scenic it is also known for its fun rapids. There is a one-day rafting trip above Augrabies which features some exciting but not too radical rapids.

Down in the Western Cape you'll find the Doring River for the more advanced white water rafting enthusiasts. Running through the Kogelberg Nature Reserve, the Palmiet River is an absolutely wonderful South African white water rapid and itoffers fantastic mechanical rafting opportunities and wonderful scenery.

The Umkomaas River on the KwaZulu Natal South Coast offers fantastic paddling with some fun and challenging rapids to navigate. Just north of Durban, the Umgeni River has some pleasant rapids.

Beach and Bush offer rafting packages on the Umkomaas River and the Buffalo River. White water rafting is offered between November and April depending on the rivers' water level. For both novice and expert rafters, it is a thrilling trip down one of the most scenic stretches of the Umkomaas, also know as the Mkomazi River.

In 1993 the Buffalo River was opened up for white water rafting enthusiasts. In this little corner of Zululand, you'll find some of the most exciting white water rafting in South Africa. Buffalo River was rated one of the top ten best in Africa by Getaway magazine and winds itself for 19km through private game farms on the one side of the river and the Northern border of Zululand on the Eastern Coast of South Africa on the other.

• Shark Cage Diving

Dives usually last 10-15 minutes and if the weather is good you can do several dives in a day. Trips often last 4-5 hours they spend the first hour finding the sharks and attracting them to the boat with bait. There are plenty of shark viewing opportunities on the boat if you are too scared to dive.

Nature and Bush

Safari game drives and hikes. There are so many in South Africa like Table Mountain, Kruger National Park or even a drive along the Garden Route.

Beach

Cape Town's beaches are very popular but the water is warmer on the KwaZulu Natal coast. At Hermanus you can go whale watching or look at the penguins at Boulders Beach.

Educational

If you are into attractions that you can get more insight on I would suggest Robben Island Museum or even the Big Hole in Kimberley.

Interactive Learning Vacations

There are many tour operators in South Africa like African Outposts that do put together packages for families so they can interact with animals. This could include the Elephant Sanctuary, Jane Goodalls chimpanzee project or even the De Wildt Cheetah Centre