THE BUCKET LIST: Adventures with Mom

In the Discovery Channel reality show, 50 Ways to Kill Your Mother, an Irish TV presenter bonded with his septuagenarian mom while engaging in death-defying adventures. Of course, it had nothing to do with trying to off her and everything to do with having a blast while seeing the world. In that spirit, here's our suggested list of ways to pick up the pulse while setting off with the most important lady in your life...

-  KEITH BAIN 

GO DUNE CRAZY IN NAMIBIA

Like Vic Falls, Swakopmund is an adventure hub, albeit with less water-bound action. Quad biking through the Swakopmund’s desert dunes will bring on a giddy rush as you rev your four-wheeled Honda bike-contraption and follow your guide on what at times feels like a marshmallowy rollercoaster ride – it’s like performing rodeo tricks on mechanised ponies, and quite a thrilling way to explore the dune fields of Dorob National Park. You can calm your mum with the news that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie raved about the experience. Next, sign up for dune boarding – it involves stepping into a pair of dauntingly heavy boots and strapping yourself to a modified snowboard. Despite how steep, tall and treacherous a 90-metre-high dune looks from the top, going down it on a board is far easier than skiing or snowboarding. The dune’s soft sand is pretty comfortable to fall into (whether backwards or forwards), and it tends to enable a slow, steady, moderate downwards glide. The worst part is carrying your board and trudging in those boots back up to the top of the dune after each descent. 

Keen? Desert Explorers will show you the adventuresome side of Swakop, and then some. namibiadesertexplorers.com.

Same, but different? Try fatbiking – riding a bicycle with humongous fat tyres – which you can do on the dune-lined beaches around Walker Bay, near Hermanus; fatbiketours.co.za.

TAME THE ZAMBEZI