Zonnekus Holiday Resort and Caravan Park

There’s much stuff to get up to close to the site: visit the Cape Town Ostrich Ranch a 10-minute drive away for a ride on one of the beasts and a chance to spot Tom Thumb, officially the world’s smallest ostrich. For a more comfortable ride, drop in on one of the pair of equestrian centres a five-minute drive from Zonnekus for full- and half-day treks through the countryside, or for extra oomph, head to Zone 7 Speed Spot, also five minutes away, for dirt bikes and quad rides. If it’s peace and nature you’re seeking, trails through the Koeberg Nature Reserve (15 minutes) take you through wildflower meadows, wind-whipped dune-scapes and salt marshes full of birdlife. Further off, but clearly unmissable, it’s an hour and a half to the Table Mountain National Park, for hikes, cable car rides, sea safaris and the spotting of rare wildlife, from African penguins to eagles and falcons. Cape Town’s Atlantic Riviera combines top surfing with safe swimming and elegant promenades for people-watching. It’s a 15-minute drive to the popular family strip at Melkbosstrand, 20 minutes and half an hour to the serious surf meccas of Big Bay and Glen Beach. (Locals tip Muizberg, 40 minutes away, as one of the best places to learn). For seafront strolls, sunset cocktails, a veritable atlas of world cuisine and general Southern Hemisphere hipness, it’s half an hour to Sea Point Promenade and 40 minutes to the buzzing, mountain-backed neighbourhood of Hout Bay.