In a seaside town bounded by nature reserves, mountains, forests, rivers, lagoons, estuaries and beautiful sandy beaches you can be sure that most of the action takes place outdoors and involves working up a healthy appetite and an unhealthy thirst.

Whale-watching is a popular attraction during mating and calving seasons – July to September – and the cliff walks and vantage points along the coast are excellent. Dolphin and whale cruises offer some extreme close-ups of these fascinating creatures.

There is no better scenery through which South Africa's only steam train could run. The Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe traverses lagoons, estuaries, forests, gorges and spectacular coastline as it huffs and puffs in vintage wood-and-leather style between Knysna and George.

Several nature reserves offer spectacular hikes, mountain bike trails, horse trails and canoeing expeditions. Best of the bunch are the craggy whale-watching trail along the peninsula in Robberg Nature Reserve and the Kynsna Forest red trail that winds through ancient yellowwoods and some of the last indigenous forest in the country.

A must-do on any junkie's list of adrenal-overdoses is the Bloukrans Bungee Jump. At 216m it's the highest in the world and presents a different way of viewing the spectacular gorge.

The primates at Monkeyland are all being groomed for their eventual return to the wild and this successful ecotourism venture is an experience not to be missed. Many species of rescued primates have free reign in 23 hectares forest that is criss-crossed with trails and wobbly foot bridges suspended between ancient yellowwoods. The guides are passionate and well-versed.

With such spectacular scenery conventional sporting activities take on unconventional characteristics and the list of options is long: golf, swimming, running, hiking, horse riding, mountain climbing, canoeing, cycling, archery, fishing, diving, surfing... we could go on all day.

After all this activity you'll be ready to reward yourself with dinner and a good bottle of wine; there are plenty of excellent restaurants, your only trouble will be choosing one.

If you stuck for ideas or want restaurant recommendations, be sure to ask your expert Rhino Africa consultant, who will be delighted to assist.