So we’re not going to South Africa for the World Cup. And apparently it’s time we got over it. But there are plenty of other reasons to visit this country. Cape Town for one. This city offers the ultimate combination of city and adventure break. Here are five don’t miss things to do if you’re lucky enough to make it there.

It might be worth debating about what’s the best way to get up to the top of spectacular Table Mountain – i.e. should you take the cable car or should you hike. But in my view, there’s only one way to get down worth mentioning – and that’s by rope.

Stepping off the top at over 1,000m above sea level and descending into pure vertical oblivion on the world’s highest commercial abseil provides an extraordinary adrenalin hit. The abseil itself is 112m long, which is impressive in itself, but with the extraordinary exposure and stunning views the effect is exponential.

If you’re nervous (isn’t that the whole idea?!), two people can go at a time, abseiling on parallel lines. I went with a travelling buddy Ciara Kelleher and I can honestly say that this is the first time I’ve ever seen someone literally have their breath taken away. When speech returned to this virgin abseiler, it was Hail Mary’s and expletives all the way.

So if you’ve never abseiled in Ireland before, I say, don’t! Save it for Table Mountain if you can. And if you’re an old dab hand on the ropes, well this is just a whole new experience with dramatic cliffs all round you and awesome views of the twinkling deep blue Atlantic at your feet.

On the abseil you’ll control your own descent but you’re also on a second safety line. Really it’s as safe as houses!

For more detail, contact Abseil Africa, tel. +27 (0) 21-4244760; email: info@abseilafrica.co.za ; web: www.abseilafrica.co.za. Cost: 595 rand (€65 approx).

The cage was bumping off the side of the boat in the heavy chop, but apparently the waters of Shark Alley were just about calm enough for our dive to go ahead. Wearing winter wetsuits and equipped with snorkel masks, a group of five of us scrambled into the cage and nervously waited for the spotters on board the boat to give the word that they’d seen a shark.

With their excited shouts we submerged ourselves and tried to peer through the mass of rough icy grey-green cold plankton-rich waters. Suddenly it was there. Like a large grey spectre, it seemed to have appeared from nowhere and its flanks blended almost completely with the opaque water.

In stark contrast to its serenity, my pulse had gone through the roof and bubbles shot from my mouth as I wriggled and bobbed in the currents trying to make sure that no body parts sneaked outside the cage bars. I needn’t have worried though.

The epic grey creature glided by calmly and serenely without the slightest apparent effort. In a moment or two it simply faded out and disappeared. It was hard to imagine it as a potential killing machine, although its otherworldly jet black eyes were unnerving. Grace is the only word to describe this immense creature which is the stuff of so many people’s nightmares.

Over the course of the next few hours, each group spends about 20 minutes or so in the water and we all saw several sharks of over 3m as they glided behind us and under us, lured to the boat by chum, a mixture of blood and chunks of fish, thrown into the water by the bucket full. Spotting from the boat was almost as absorbing as being in the water.

As a grand finale our guide threw a huge hunk of fish flesh tied to a rope into the water as a shark swims by. As he gave the guide gives a sudden tug to the line, the shark is transformed from serenity to a seething mass of strength, as it grabs the meat with its rows of razor sharp teeth and its tail thrashing hard enough to soak everyone on the boat. You’re left with little doubt that despite its grace, this creature is the ultimate super predator.

While there is debate over the ethics of shark cage diving (some people claim that chumming sharks encourages encounters with and attacks on humans), providers make the argument that these controlled encounters with sharks help dispel this creature’s Jaws-type image and make people realise that this incredible specimen deserves protection and respect. While great whites are protected, they still retail on the black market for between $50-$100,000 and 100-200 million sharks are killed every year to make shark fin soup.

For more detail, contact White Shark Project, tel. +27(0)28 384 1774; email: bookings@whitesharkprojects.co.za; web: www.whitesharkprojects.co.za. Cost: 1500 rand (€160 approx) which includes, transfer to Gaansbaai (about three hours from Cape Town), breakfast, lunch and a DVD of your trip. The drive is fairly spectacular and there’s a good chance you’ll spot some whales on the journey or on the boat ride out to Shark Alley.

Table Mountain National Park boasts the richest single floristic area on the planet. Serving as Cape Town’s back garden, you’ll always have the feeling that wilderness is never very far away. If the need to escape into a big outdoors becomes an itch that you need to scratch, a kloofing trip to the Steenbras River Gorge near Gordon’s bay (about an hour from the city) is worth considering.

Also known as Kamikaze Canyon, a kloofing trip involves a tasty combination of trekking through unspoiled rivers and herb scented bush land, abseiling down waterfalls and leaping off high rocky precipices into deep pools of cold water. (The word kloof means cliff or gorge in Afrikaans).

The biggest 65m abseil may pale beside Table Mountain but it’s still impressive and the jumps range from 3m for the nervy to 22m. After lots of deep breaths and procrastination, I made it off the 8m option and my girly screams could be heard echoing up through the stunning canyon. Pathetic really!

But even if jumping from heights isn’t really your thing, this day-long trip is a lovely excursion. Keep your eyes peeled for wildlife like the dassie or rock hyrax. Believe it or not, this cute little furry fella’s closest relative is the elephant. And beware the baboons. Those sneaky devils which can be nasty are always waiting to rob your lunch and are reputed to single out women to thieve from.

For more details contact Abseil Africa, tel. +27 (0) 21-4244760; email: info@abseilafrica.co.za; web: www.abseilafrica.co.za. Cost: 795 rand (€83) including transfers, breakfast, picnic lunch and post-kloof barbecue. Recommended guide: Gareth.

If you’ve ever wanted to fly, a tandem paraglide is one of the closest ways you’ll get to it and Lion’s Head Mountain is about as spectacular a location as you could chose.

Adjacent to Table Mountain and overlooking Camps Bay and Clifton on the coastline with their turquoise beaches, you’ll get the ultimate alternative view of Cape Town while you soar on thermals high above the land and the sea.

My guide on the day was Jan de Jager, a tandem instructor pilot with a serious demeanour who has been flying since 1995. My friend on the other hand was flying with Pascal Purin – a baby faced 25-year-old with a cheeky grin who started flying at eight when he retrieved a paraglider that his parents had thrown out. So I felt in relatively safe hands!

Take off, it turns out is a doddle. You simply run down a hill strapped to your instructor and the next thing you know your legs are pedalling in mid air. The rush starts as you start to gain height, ascending over the rocky cliffs of Lion’s Head to as high as XX. De Jager calmed me down by pointing out all the famous landmark like the Twelve Apostles in the spectacular panorama.

And then he scared the bejaysus out of me when towards the end of the flight, he put the paraglider into a spin (he asked me for permission first) over the sea so I could “experience some Gs” as he put it. He only stopped when I begged for mercy!

For details or to book, contact Para Taxi Tandem Paragliding, tel. +27 (0)82-9662047;

email: info@para-taxi.com; web: www.para-taxi.com. Cost: 1,250 rand (€132 approx). Be sure to plan your paragliding experience early in your trip to Cape Town as it is often postponed due to wind being too high or too low. Also be sure to leave yourself enough time to enjoy a beer in La Med bar, right on the beach in Clifton to see where the rich and famous South Africans hang out.

To experience the other extremes of South Africa a tour of one of the township is an uncomfortable must. The vast majority of black South African’s live in these large sprawling areas outside the cities filled with roughly assembled shacks – a stark contrast to the pristine white suburbs, beautiful homes, fancy restaurants and lush beach resorts where most people’s holidays are spent.

While a trip to a township can feel strange (to some it seems a bit voyeuristic) remember it does put money into the local economy and it’s not all depressing. You’ll probably be bowled over by these busy vibrant places where smartly dressed school kids befriend you, music blares and local industry thrives – even if you might initially be taken aback when you witness chickens being slaughtered on the side of the road or shopping trolleys full of walkie talkies (heads and feet of chicken) or smileys (sheep’s heads) being sold for street-side BBQs. Co-led by a local resident, you’ll get to visit a local spaza (shop), shebeen (pub) and the shacks which are clean and tidy despite the lack of facilities. You’re likely to be left in little doubt about the spirit of people who live here and often have very little.

It’s worth remembering that many of the township locals travel long distances to work in Cape Town’s swanky hotels, homes and restaurants. District 66 Museum is well worth a visit too to get an idea of how the townships were formed and the Apartheid era from behind them.

If at the end of your tour, you’d like to try and do something about this inequality you could make a contribution to a local charity or even sign up for a Build It Week with the Niall Mellon Township Trust (www.nmtownshiptrust.com) or another similar charity that builds simple but sturdy homes in the townships.

There are endless township tour operators. Just ask what percentage of your fee goes back into these communities through charities and enterprise groups.