As the days in the office pass by, one boring air-conditioned cubicled day after the next, you are filled with the irrepressible desire to escape the clacking of keyboards and embark on an exciting adventure in distant lands.

Problem: you've almost run out of leave and your bank balance is looking a little thin on the ground. Solution: quit your job, enrol in flight school and travel the world. Or... fake it.

Ah yes, in this diverse and wonderful land of ours, you can (with the teensiest stretch of the imagination) pretend that you are, in fact, sunning yourself on a Greek island or traversing canyons in Mexico.

A taste of Greece

Without the ruins, Greece is, well, just a whole lot of Mediterranean islands filled with goats, beautiful people and olive trees. With its sun-kissed beaches, flat-roofed white-washed houses and sizeable yacht marina, Club Mykonos is Greece sans the Acropolis, togas and incestuous deities.

Situated on the West Coast just more than an hour's drive from Cape Town, this holiday resort offers easily accessible Mediterranean living in a range of self-catering cottages. Perhaps a little better equipped than your average Greek island, Mykonos offers yachting, golf, horse-riding, a spa and even a casino.

Trekking through Tuscany

Tuscany, with its sweeping hills, olive groves, quaint villages and picturesque vineyards, has a romantic charm which can't be found anywhere else in the world. Except perhaps in Wellington, South Africa. Snuggled between the Limiet and Bainskloof mountain ranges, Wellington is a quick 45 minute drive from Cape Town.

As in Tuscany, the best way to explore this beautiful valley is on foot. A three day 'fynbos tour' will take you on a hiking trail through indigenous fynbos, olive groves, vineyards and fruit orchards. On the way, you'll stop to taste wines, cheese and olives produced by the local farmers. And after a day of vigorous exploration, you'll get to relax at one of the comfortable wine estates or guest houses.

Fine French cheese

France. Franschhoek. Mmm... with a name like that, this is the perfect place to finish your Mediterranean tour. Luckily, it's also a bit like France. Although the French Huguenots settled here almost 300 years ago, the French traditions of fine food and wine still run strong.

Visit one of the award-winning restaurants; spend the day tasting wine or pottering around the village. Treat yourself to imported French cheese or visit the boutique chocolatier.

Canopy tours in Costa Rica

For the more intrepid traveller the Mediterranean is, well, a little tame. Central America, on the other hand, offers unexplored forests, dangerous reptiles and regular military coups. Home to more than one hundred species of snake, Costa Rica also boasts abundant rainforests. One of the joys of visiting said rainforests is that you get to take an adrenalin-filled 'canopy tour' through the treetops.

Or - and this option involves far fewer snakes and a far shorter flight - you could visit the Tsitsikamma forest in the Eastern Cape. The lush, Afromontane forest, which hugs the protected coastline, is full of pristine rivers, ancient yellowwoods, beautiful birds and vervet monkeys. Embark on one of the rewarding hiking trails or do as they do in Costa Rica and take an exciting canopy tour.

Find peace in Bali

If flying precariously through the air attached by a harness to a wire is not your idea of fun, you might be more inclined towards a spiritual journey to find inner peace. Don't worry, this journey also involves picturesque scenery and relaxing massages.

In Bali, the New Year celebrations are followed by 24 hours of silence during which time no one is allowed to work, use electricity or walk around the streets. The time is spent meditating and reflecting. A visit to Zimbali, which is situated on KwaZulu-Natal's unspoiled Dolphin Coast, may bring about similar levels of serenity.

Zimbali, which translates from the Zulu as 'valley of flowers', offers long stretches of empty beaches, aesthetically pleasing Indonesian-influenced architecture and protected forests filled with butterflies, monkeys and an abundance of birdlife. If you can't find yourself in this stunning, spacious (700-hectare) private resort... well, you should at least be able to find your way to the golf course or health spa.

Canyoning in Mexico

If you are more interested in getting lost, Copper Canyon in Mexico is the answer. A canyon system in the Sierra Madre range which, in total, is approximately four times larger than the Grand Canyon in Arizona, is the perfect place to lose yourself... for days and days and days.

Slightly less daunting is the Blyde River Canyon in Mpumalanga. Regarded by some as the third largest canyon in the world (apparently the criteria for measuring these things are a bit vague), this 33-kilometre long and 800-metre deep canyon is one of South Africa's natural wonders. With its verdant vegetation, magnificent waterfalls and majestic mountains it also happens to look quite a bit like the Copper Canyon in Mexico. While you're there, check out God's Window (a view like no other) and Bourke's Luck Potholes (massive, ancient, water-filled potholes).

Okay, if this hasn't whetted your appetite for global travel in South Africa then either you are boring beyond redemption or you have a fantastic job. Oh, and when you've finished travelling the world, South Africa also has a few destinations that are uniquely, well, South African.