A surfeit of football and crowds, and quantities of beer not consumed since college days can take their toll. International bonhomie has its limits and, let's face it, South African cities, with the notable exception of Cape Town, don't have much going for them. You are desperate to disappear into the landscape. What to do?
In Japan and Korea during the 2002 World Cup, I withdrew to sacred mountains and a secluded Buddhist monastery. In Germany 2006, I saw three matches and three World Heritage Sites in three days. Shattering. In France 1998 - well, I ate a lot. South Africa, however, has the perfect tonic - its hiking trails. Hikers are spoiled for choice. You can pop out for a quick day outing, or construct a more distant, multi-day escape. There are excellent companies eager to organise a perfect expedition. Venture out and your goodwill will be restored when you and 50,000 others shuffle back into that stadium.
Here are six of my South African favourites, chosen for their variety and all within a few hours of a World Cup stadium.
The Drakensberg
This magnificent basalt escarpment, a line of tremendous cliffs and fantastical formations over 200 kilometres long, forms the edge of the high Lesotho plateau. Drops of 1,000 metres are not unusual here, and you can feel you are gazing down at the foothills through the wrong end of a telescope.
Those foothills, the Little Berg, are special in their own right, a maze of sandstone canyons and grassy ridges descending to the plains some 1,800 metres below the escarpment top. Their lush, flowery greenness for much of the year will surprise those expecting sparse grass and dry rock. Zulu kraals are scattered up the valleys, their herds grazing on the lower slopes.