Difference between revisions of "Garden Route"

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Garden Route

The Garden Route in the Western Cape is one of South Africa's main tourist attractions and is generally thought to stretch from Mossel Bay to St Francis along the Indian ocean and also includes parts of the inland.

Regions

The central part of the Garden Route is formed by the coastline of the Indian ocean. To the north it is bordered by the Little Karoo, a semi-desert region.

Cities

• George, the largest town along the Route
• Knysna, one of the most popular tourist destinations
• Storms River, the Gate to the Tsitsikamma National Park
• Plettenberg Bay
• Mossel Bay, this is where Bartolomeu Dias set foot ashore in 1488 and South Africa`s first post office was founded in 1500
• Nature's Valley, One of the few remaining areas of truly outstanding natural beauty along the Garden Route

Other destinations

• Platbos
• Tsitsikamma National Park: encloses one of the most beautiful coasts in South Africa between Storms River and Nature's Valley.
• Sedgefield
• Tsitsikamma
• Wilderness

Understand

Get in

By plane

South African Airways has regular flights to George and Port Elizabeth, which is reachable with budget airlines Kulula and 1Time. The nearest international airport is in Cape Town

By car

The Garden Route is easily reached from

Cape Town : east on the N2 highway
Durban, Port Elizabeth : west on the N2 highway
Pretoria, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein : south on the the N1 then the N9
Kimberley : south on the N12

The N2 is the main highway that passes through the Garden Route, connecting Cape Town with Port Elizabeth.

By bus

The main companies offer regular services along the Garden Route from Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. The region is also on the Baz Bus route.

Get around

The best way to tour the Route is by car. You can hire a car all the cities along the Garden Route, but be aware of one-way fees for rental cars.

See

Do

• Visit Tsitsikamma National Park and hike the Otter trail
• Surf in Plettenberg Bay or Vic Bay

THE iconic Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe steam train. A long time firm favourite ride along part of The Garden Route http://www.outeniquachootjoe.co.za/ The famous steam train. Lots of photos in the picture gallery. Transport Museum and steam train. During August 2006 the line was damaged due to heavy flooding. As of November 2006 it was rescheduled to run between George and Mossel Bay (with a stop at Hartenbos There is lots of information about the train but beware of out of date information. On Friday 17 September 2010, the Choo Tjoe took its last journey before being discontinued forever However there is some renewed hope that it might return http://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/steam-train-back-on-track-if-funds-permit-1.1143646

• Quad Adventures, ☎ +27 (0)723 03-9011, [1]. Camp under the stars in the wild after a day of winding through dramatic mountain terrain of the Garden Route to the vast open spaces of the Little Karoo. Choose between 4 wheels or 2 and enjoy hours or even days of adventure. Tours range from a 25 minute introductory route through beautiful valleys to overnight all-out action deep in the wild. The adventure is here – you decide when.
• timberlake, Halfway btw Wilderness & Sedgefield (look out for wooden cabins on left if coming from George direction). 9:00-17:00. Specialist retail cabins including: Confectionary, Cheese, Wine, 100% organic Health Shop, Fairy Gem, Eden Nursery with four fantastic eateries: Cafe d'Afrique coffee shop, Zucchini restaurant, Oyster Shack and Country Deli. Relax in beautiful gardens, see our organic vegetable gardens in action and enjoy the best in local.

Eat

As a main tourist destination there are many restaurants for every taste. Enjoy superb fish from the ocean ; Knysna is the place to taste some oysters.

• hot chocolate cafe, HH 32 Holt Hill Plettenbergbay (between Plettenbergbay & Knysna), ☎ 0760544945. 9-5. delectable belguim chocolate products handmade on premises read a book, play a game, relax under our big tree 25.
• La Carla mask atelier, carla@modelvision.co.za (between plett & knysna, on N2, 6km outside plett), ☎ 082 499 6295, [2]. 9am-5pm. The studio specializes in creating Unique Handcrafted Venetian Carnival Masks, next door to the Hot Chocolate Cafe, this is a treat not to be missed. studio and shop open to public R125 - R1500.
• La carla atelier, (N2, between plett & knysna, 6km from plett), ☎ 082 461 7731, [3]. 9am-5pm. the fasinating craft of european mask making in Plettenberbay. unique handmade venetian carnival masks on display in the exiting shop R125 - R1500.

Sleep

There is no shortage of all kinds of accommodation but book ahead on weekends / holiday. Especially during the summer the Garden Route is a popular holiday destination, not only for foreign tourists but also for South Africans. If you are backpacking, the area has numerous hostels. Find a listing of most of them on the Coast to Coast website [4]. Campers will find excellent facilities at sites like the Ebb and Flow campsite in Wilderness, [5]. The Tsitsikamma sites at Storms's River mouth and Nature's Valley are also places of scenic beauty, and out of season can be havens of peace where otters appear on the beach [6]. If its Elephants that you after then the best place to stay in is the Main Camp [www.sanparks.org/parks/addo/] located in the Addo Elephant National Park.

Stay safe

Compared with the larger cities the towns along the Garden Route are quite safe. As always use your common sense. Driving at night is fine.

Get out

• Go ahead for Cape Town or Port Elizabeth.
• Jeffreys Bay is a well-known for its surfing grounds.
• Visit the Little Karoo just to the north of the Garden Route