Scuba diving is a recreation that's growing in popularity, and South Africa is one of the cheapest places in the world to get an internationally recognized open-water certificate, with courses at all the coastal cities as well as a number of other resorts. The most rewarding diving is along the St Lucia Marine Reserve in northern KwaZulu-Natal coast, where 100,000 dives go under every year for its coral reefs and fluorescent fish. You won't find corals and bright colors along the Cape coast, but the huge number of sunken vessels makes wreck-diving popular and you can encounter the swaying rhythms of giant kelp forests.

KwaZulu-Natal is also good for snorkeling and there are some underwater trails elsewhere in the country, most notable of which is in the Tsitsikamma National Park.

Fishing is another well-developed South African activity and the coasts yield 250 species caught through rock, bay or surf angling. The confluence of the warm Indian Ocean and cooler Atlantic east of the Cape Peninsula, brings one of the highest concentrations of game fish in the world, including longfin, tunny and marlin. Inland you'll find plenty of rivers and dams stocked with freshwater fish, while trout fishing is extremely well-established in Mpumalanga, the northern sections of the Eastern Cape and the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.

If you want to find out how bait feels, there are a couple of places along the southern Cape and Garden Route where you can go on shark-cage dives and come face to face with deadly great whites.

On inland waterways, South African holidaymakers are keen speedboaters, an activity that goes hand in hand with waterskiing. Kayaking and canoeing are also very popular, and you can often rent craft at resorts or national parks that lie along rivers. For the more adventurous, there's white-water rafting, with some decent trips along the Tugela River in KwaZulu-Natal and on the Orange River.

Don't expect balmy Mediterranean seas in South Africa: of its 2500km of coastline, only the stretch along the Indian Ocean seaboard of KwaZulu-Natal and the northern section of the Eastern Cape can be considered tropical, and along the entire coast an energetic surf pounds the shore. In Cape Town, sea bathing is only comfortable between November and March. Generally, the further east you go from here, the warmer the water becomes and the longer the bathing season. Sea temperatures that rarely drop below 18ÞC make the KwaZulu-Natal coast warm enough for a dip at any time of year. A word of warning: dangerous undertows and riptides are present along the coast and you should try to bathe where lifeguards are present. Failing that (and guards aren't that common away from main resorts out of season) you should follow local advice, never swim alone, and always treat the ocean with respect.