The Garden Route begins about four hours outside Cape Town, and includes one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline, the starting point of which is constantly contested as towns such as Witsand, Riversdal, Stilbaai and Albertinia join the route that winds its way for some 200 km via George, Wilderness, Sedgefield and Knysna on to Plettenberg Bay culminating in the Tstisikamma Forest - a fairyland of giant trees, ferns and bird life. Mosselbay, Hartenbos, Oudthoorn, Little Brak River, Great Brak River are but also some of the adventure destinations of the Garden Route.
Mossel Bay is a harbour town on the Garden Route in South Africa’s Western Cape Province. It’s known for the wide Santos Beach and the 19th-century Cape St. Blaize Lighthouse, which offers bay views. The Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex includes the Maritime Museum, the Shell Museum and botanical gardens. The Post Office Tree, a milkwood tree in the complex, has been used as a mail collection point since the 1500s.
Hartenbos is a town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. It is located some 45 kilometres outside George, South Africa. It belongs, together with 20 other settlements, to the Mossel Bay Local Municipality. The lagoon of the Hartenbos River is great for family holiday sport such as swimming, surfing and canoeing. Whale, dolphin and seal watching draw visitors to Hartenbos each year. Bird life, particularly near the river mouth, is abundant, and the area is an active breeding ground for sea birds.
George is known for its golf courses and the George Museum, which has exhibits on the local timber industry. The Outeniqua Transport Museum has steam trains and vintage cars. The Garden Route Botanical Garden features trails and local fynbos plants. The Seven Passes road to Knysna town winds through the Outeniqua Mountains.
Oudtshoorn is a town in the Klein Karoo area of South Africa’s Western Cape. It’s known for its ostrich farms and rests along the Route 62 wine route. The central C.P. Nel Museum traces the ostrich-feather boom era and houses a working synagogue. The nearby Cango Wildlife Ranch is a conservation park offering animal petting. To the north, the Cango Caves are a 20-million-year-old network of limestone chambers.
Knysna is a town with 76,150 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa and is one of the destinations on the loosely defined Garden Route tourist route. It is situated 60 kilometres east of the city of George on the N2 highway, and 33 kilometres west of the Plettenberg Bay on the same road.
Plettenberg Bay is a seaside town on the Garden Route in South Africa’s Western Cape Province. The sandy Central Beach and Lookout Beach both have surf breaks. To the south, Robberg Nature Reserve is a rocky peninsula with trails and the Stone Age Nelson Bay Caves. Northeast are Birds of Eden, a free-flight bird sanctuary in indigenous forest, and an elephant sanctuary. Whales come near the coast in migration season.