The Garden Route

Amazing Towns

The Garden Route area stretches from Swellendam in the west to Tsitsikamma in the east, all the towns have it’s own charm and unique features and landmarks.  All below mentioned towns are within 2 hour scenic drive away from us and can be easily visited during the day!

Towns of the Garden Route

Activities

The Garden Route offers it’s visitors amazing activities suiting the whole family.  As mentioned above, all the towns have their own unique activities.  The Garden Route caters well for the adventure seeker as well as the art lover.  Adventure activities include, Shark Cage Diving, Scuba Diving, Skydiving, Bungy Jumping, Sea Kayaking, Hiking, Trail Running, Mountain Biking, Quad Biking, Canoeing, Abseiling, Kloofing and many many more..

For the art and culture lovers, there is several wine tasting in the Garden Route.  It is not a well known fact but there is over 25 wine estates in the Garden Route.  Various art can be found in galleries and in street side stalls.  When visiting the Klein Karoo and Oudtshoorn, be sure to stop at these stalls and have a look at what they offer.  It is mostly locally made art.

Family Excursions

There is amazing things to see here in the Garden Route.  On your scenic drive towards Tsitsikamma you can visit Jukani Predator Park, where you can see Lions, Tigers and other African carnivores! Monkeyland, Birds of Eden and the Knysna Elephant Santuary is also near Jukani and will entertain the whole family.

Scenic Beauty

The Garden Route is known all over the world as probably the most beautiful part of South Africa.  The surrounding nature is very diverse and if you appreciate fauna and flora, we have great mountains, fynbos, indigenous forests, rocky coastlines and sandy beaches!  There are several hiking trails suited for the novice hiker to the extreme mountaineer.  These excursions are safe and a very enjoyable family experiences.

See the Klein Karoo section below for more information on activities in the Oudtshoorn area.

The Klein Karoo

The Klein Karoo can be best described as a semi-desert area just over the Outeniqua Mountains and just below the Swartberg Mountains.  The area is mostly know for its ostrich farming which was a huge industry back in the day.  Now, the Klein Karoo still have ostriches which can be visit.  Safari Ostrich Show Farm has hourly tours where you will see different kinds of ostriches and emu.  You can also ride an ostrich there.

The area is also well known for its local wines and liqueurs as well as the local arts and crafts.  The scenery is amazing with wide open spaces and the “red mountains” can be found on the way to Calitzdorp.

The world famous Cango Caves is near Oudtshoorn. Visitors go on tours inside the caves and for the more adventurous, you can crawl your way through the whole cave.  On the road to the caves, when leaving the town area, you will pass the Cango Wildlife Ranch.  Here you will see various wild animals and crocodiles.  You can enter certain animal cages with supervision and have touch experiences.  You can also do a crocodile cage dive!

Wines

You will be pleasantly surprised to find more than 25 wine farms in the area from Herbertsdale to Plettenberg Bay.  Well known estates like Boplaas, Karusa and Grundheim can be found in the Oudtshoorn / Calitzdorp area.  Be sure to visit these when passing through or exploring the towns.  The wine route, better known as Route 62 also starts in Oudtshoorn and runs toward Worcester in the cape.

Retief Goosen, world class golfer, also has a wine farm called Goose Wines, in the langkloof area near the small town of Herold.  His farm is a nice scenic drive from us the wine is top quality.

For more information on the Wine Estates in the Garden Route, please visit Garden Route Wines.

Arts & Culture

As mentioned before the region has its own unique arts and culture to offer you.  Most of the local artist is making a living of their work and mostly supported by the visiting tourists.  The art is mostly locally inspired.  The art is sold during local festivals ( KKNK, Calitzdorp Port & Wine Festival and Knysna Oyster Festival ) and in stalls on the streets.  Some of the local paint artist’s work will be seen in art shops and tourists destinations.