Attractions along the Garden Route.

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Things to See and Do along the Garden Route

Introduction

There are plenty of things to see and do along the Garden Route that will keep you busy during your stay here. All are within an easy drive of either Knysna, Plettenberg Bay or Wilderness, so you can comfortably base yourself at any one of these towns and visit the various attractions as day trips.

Knysna and the Lagoon

Knysna (pronounced 'Nysna') is a bustling little holiday town, situated right in the heart of the Garden Route. Having won the acclaimed award of South Africa's favourite holiday town for 2 consecutive years, it is no wonder that even in the quiet season it is still very busy!

Set on the shores of a beautiful lagoon, Knysna has a lively Waterfront area, and the excellent selection of accommodation, restaurants, galleries and craft shops, and activities makes it a superb holiday destination and a perfect base from which to explore the many attractions of the Garden Route.

Catamaran trip to Knysna Heads The Knysna Lagoon is sheltered from the ocean by a coral reef and the Knysna Heads - 2 large cliff formations which form a natural narrow opening into the ocean. Several operators offer relaxing catamaran trips and sunset champagne cruises out to the Heads and into the open sea, which is a great way to escape the busy streets for a while.

Oysters are cultivated in the Knysna Lagoon and served in most of the local restaurants. The Knysna Oyster Company, established since 1949, is situated on Thesen Islands and offers daily educational tours, accompanied by fine cuisine.

The Featherbed Nature Reserve

The Featherbed Nature Reserve is a unique 150 hectare private Nature Reserve, which encompasses the whole of the Western Head of Knysna and is one of South Africa's Natural Heritage Sites.

It is home to 2 of the Garden Route's 'icons', namely the Knysna loerie and the blue duiker, one of Africa's smallest antelope species. Other wildlife found on the Reserve include Cape mountain tortoises, blue cranes (South Africa's national bird), and the rare and endangered black African oyster catchers.

Due to the tremendous popularity of this premier attraction in the Garden Route, there is a regular daily schedule of trips to the Reserve, which can be booked from the Knysna Tourist Information Centre or at the booking office located at the Knysna Waterfront.

Knysna Forest

Knysna Forest Vegitation Knysna Forest is one of the the largest remaining forested areas in South Africa, covering almost 80,000 hectares, and comprising of tall and ancient trees of local and exotic species, including stinkwood, yellowwood, blackwood, ironwood, white alders and Cape chestnut.

There are several trails through the forest of differing lengths, including the Elephant Trail, in recognition of the fact that the forest used to be home to great herds of Knysna elephants. However, don't expect to see any elephants during your walk- there haven't been any in the forest since the late 1990s.

Instead, there are plenty of vervet monkeys swinging in the treetops which will provide lots of entertainment if you stand and watch them for a while.

Plettenberg Bay

Originally called Baia Formosa, or Beautiful Bay, by the early Portuguese, the renamed Plettenberg Bay (or Plett as it is known locally) is a trendy, upmarket holiday resort set in a curving bay, with a backdrop of rugged mountains.

The small town is filled with galleries, studios and interesting craft shops, and there are many restaurants ranging from beachside pubs to oceanfront dining rooms.

Plettenberg Bay Dolphins Outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy mountain biking, horse riding, hiking trails, golf, diving, excellent salt and fresh water fishing - even skydiving. Plett is also home to some of the best beaches along the Garden Route, and is an excellent place to do many watersports, including hobie cat sailing, surfing, water-skiing and canoeing.

Plettenberg Bay also offers some of the best whale watching, and there are many lookout points along the coastline which offer excellent land-based whale watching, or regular boat based whale watching tours provide the opportunity to see these gentle giants at close quarters.

Robberg Nature and Marine Reserve

Just 8 km south of Plett is the Robberg Nature and Marine Reserve, situated on a rugged coastal peninsula.

It offers sweeping views of the bay, as well as superb whale and dolphin watching, a huge Cape Fur seal colony, excellent birding, and 3 hiking trails to choose from - a 45 minutes trail, a 2 hour trail, or a 9.2 km / 4½ hour trail.

There is also the Nelson Bay Cave - an archaeological site with evidence of human habitation that stretches back for more than 120 thousand years.

Tsitsikamma National Park

Known as 'the place of much water', the magnificent Tsitsikamma National Park is 70 km east of Plettenberg Bay.

Tsitsikamma National Park A combined marine and forest Park, this narrow coastal strip has a temperate climate and a high rainfall, resulting in cascading waterfalls, evergreen indigenous forests and awesome river gorges. The pristine marine reserve extends for 5 km out to sea, providing unique snorkelling and diving opportunities, as well as boat cruises.

The forests are home to an abundance of birds, antelope, bush pig, honey badgers and the occasional leopard, as well as the impressive indigenous Yellowwood trees, which grow up to 50m high and can live as long as 800 years. There are also various cultural heritage sites including caves and rock art.

There are numerous forest and coastal hiking trails, depending on your fitness and ability, or if you just want to relax, there is the choice of a small beach at Storms River or the unspoilt sands at Nature's Valley.

Tsitsikamma Tree Canopy Tour Tsitsikamma is also the Garden Route's adventure playground. Adrenalin junkies will revel in the diverse range of activities offered by Storms River Adventures.

The adventures cater for all tastes - mild or wild - and experiences include the Woodcutters Journey, scuba diving, guided hiking, and the unique Tsitsikamma Canopy Tour, where you are are harnessed to a series of cables up to 30m above the forest floor, and glide from one giant tree to tree. The Bloukrans Bungee offers the highest commercial jump in the world at over 200m, and if that isn't bad enough, you also get to freefall for 7 seconds / 180m.

Mossel Bay

The history of Mossel Bay dates back to when Bartolomeu Dias visited the bay in 1488.

The port became an important trading point for all passing ships, and sailors began to leave messages for other ships in a boot hanging from an old milkwood tree. This 'Post Office' is commemorated today by a stone shoe monument in the exact place where the old tree once stood.

Several operators run shark cage diving trips and champagne sunset cruises around the bay, or it is possible to take a boat out to the nearby Seal Island, which is home to 4,000 Cape fur seals.

Ostriches at Oudtshoorn

Ostrich Race Oudtshoorn, 55 km north of George, is the tourist mecca of the Little (or Klein) Karoo, and is famous for its ostrich farms.

Before the First World War, thousands of ostriches were bred on farms across the area, primarily to service the growing fashion trend for ostrich feathers.

Today, there are still many breeding farms, but the main tourist attraction are the Ostrich Show Farms, which offer a 2 hour tour of the breeding camps and hatcheries, ending in a 'Derby' style ostrich race with local jockeys.