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It's that time of year again. The shops are flooded with chocolates and teddies and hearts are everywhere: it's another Valentine's Day. If you've done too many candlelit dinners surrounded by loved-up couples, try out these alternative ways to celebrate being in love.

Get out of the city and into the mountains on the Dirtopia Sunset Valentine's Hike on 13 February. Hike to the top of Klapmutskoppie and enjoy a romantic sunset picnic. The hike starts at 17.45 at the Dirtopia Trail Centre on the R44 between Stellenbosch and Klapmuts, and costs R40 a person. The hike is 9,75 km but there is a 5 km option with farm vehicle assistance. Picnics are available for R230 a couple, or bring your own hamper. To book call tel 021-884-4752 or e-mail info@dirtopia.co.za.

The Sensual Sensory Feast is perfect for foodies who want something more than couple-smothered restaurants on Valentine's Day. Spend three hours indulging your senses with aphrodiasic food, as chef Shaun Woolf guides you and your partner through a sensual food experience. Expect blindfolded tastings and sexy gourmet indulgence coupled with a hands-on food experience. The delicious Valentine's menu includes sexy food like litchis marinated in Kahlua, oysters, bruschetta, fresh basil pesto pasta and Lindt chocolate balls wrapped in phyllo pastry. The Sensual Sensory Feast costs R740 a person and takes place in Wynberg, Johannesburg. Book through NetFlorist or e-mail shaun@allaboutfood.co.za.

Get intimately close with your loved one on a steel cable... suspended above the Karkloof indigenous forest on the Karkloof Canopy Tour near Howick. Spend a relaxing three hours strapped to your partner gliding through the tree tops on slides that zig-zag down the valley. The tour costs R450 a person and includes lunch and refreshments. Call tel 033-330-3415 or e-mail info@karkloofcanopytour.co.za to book.

Romcom movies are going to be full of popcorn-sharing cuddling couples. Skip the cliched plots - instead see one of history's most tragic love affairs unfold on stage in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra at the Maynardville Open Air Theatre in Wynberg, Cape Town. There's a special pre-Valentine's Day showing at 20.15 on 13 February. Take your own pre-show picnic or order one from The Picnic Company tel 021-421-7695 or e-mail info@picnics.co.za. Tickets range from R100 to R150 and can be booked through Computicket.

Take a sunrise hot air balloon ride for two over the Magalies River Valley, 70 km north of Johannesburg with Bill Harrops' "Original" Balloon Safaris. Whisper romantic nothings to each other as you float serenely among the clouds, and sip sparkling wine and feast on a champagne breakfast when you land. A one-hour balloon flight with sparkling wine and breakfast costs R2770 a person. Call tel 011-705-3201 or e-mail getaway@balloon.co.za to book.

If jumping off Table Mountain with your partner sounds like your idea of Valentine's Day bonding, take the plunge with a 112m abseil. There's nothing like a bit of a fear to ignite romance... The abseil costs R1190 a couple. Contact Sue on tel 083-953-6144 or e-mail valentines@aaax.co.za to book. In Joburg you're not going to have the view of the peninsula, but the adrenaline rush of launching forwards off a building will more than make up for it. Rap Jumping, relatively new to South Africa, is like abseiling but the ropes are attached to your back as you run forwards. Declare your undying love for each other as you jump off the 100-metre tall Orlando Towers in Soweto. It costs R360 a person for two rap jumps. Call Marco tel 082-605-1150 or e-mail info@purerush.co.za.

What could be more romantic than you and your loved one in a Vietnam US Marine Corps Bell 205 Huey UH-1 on a simulated combat flight? The doors are left open as you soar above Cape Town in each other's arms. The flight takes off from the V&A Waterfront and costs R3599 a couple. Contact Sue on tel 083-953-6144 or e-mail valentines@aaax.co.za.

Joburg's disused mine dumps make for what is probably the most antithetical Valentine's Day setting imaginable, and the perfect place to escape the city's love-adorned restaurants and have some adrenaline-fuelled fun with your partner. Pure Rush Industries offers sandboarding lessons to beginners on the fabulously named Mount Mayhem in Benoni for R250 a person. To book, call Marco tel 082-605-1150 or e-mail info@purerush.co.za.

If you're single and detest Valentine's Day, now is the time to go solo camping in the mountains or in the one of South Africa's vast, barely populated wildernesses, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. It will just be you, your tent and the wilderness - no couples, no romance, no chocolates, and no hearts.

And, if you really want to escape Valentine's Day, you could always go to Saudi Arabia, where Valentine's Day is officially banned.

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