African Safari Lodge

The site's in a top location for anyone interested in nature. It's a 15-minute drive from Thomas Baines Nature Reserve, where game drives, birdwatching, canoeing, bass fishing, sailing and hiking should entertain, and baboons, elands, kudus and African buffalo are all to be spotted. When more dramatic encounters are sought, an hour and 10 minutes’ driving will bring guests to Addo Elephant National Park and its Big Five safaris. Leisurely days lounging by the sea are a cinch hereabouts too – the beaches and Bushman’s River Canoe Trail of Kenton-on-Sea are within 45 minutes, and it's about an hour to Port Alfred for diving and plenty more sandy stretches. A combination of seaside and city days can be had in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), roughly an hour and a half away, where beaches, whale and dolphin watching, coastal boat tours and trips to the St Croix penguin colony are all balanced nicely with museums, galleries and gardens. For a less traditional urban experience, travel as far as Bathurst (an hour and 10 minutes) to visit the world’s largest pineapple and the pineapple museum, and to take part in pineapple tours and tastings. Hols not complete without swinging a club about? Wannabe Tiger Woods can be on the links on the far side of Grahamstown within 40 minutes, strolling along 18 scenic fairways, attempting holes-in-one, and rewarding well-played rounds with a pitstop in the club’s restaurant.