Dec’ 2015
I have always loved road trips. They bring in an aspect of unpredictability and discovering the unexpected which doesn’t happen when you fly into a destination. We had been to Cape Town earlier in 2014 but at that time we flew in there. This time we decided to drive down the famous “Garden Route” which takes you across awe-inspiring natural beauty and many small coastal towns. Stretching along the southern Cape coast from Heidelberg in the west to the Tsitsikamma Forest and Storms River in the east, the region is contained of towering mountains, breathtaking passes and gorges. The region has a well-developed tourist infrastructure with serene little towns dotted all along the coast. The area also boasts two national parks – Tsitsikamma and Wilderness – as well as numerous other provincial and private nature reserves.
You need at least 1 week to do justice to this trip. Since we had already covered Cape Town on our last trip, we decided to do a shorter version over 5 days. There are various different ways to do Garden Route. For instance you can hop along these different towns and stay at various places. Or as we did, make one of these towns as a base and use that to explore the neighboring towns and destinations through day-trips. Since we were travelling with kids, this approached worked better for us.
Day 1 : The journey started with a very long drive of 1350 km from Johannesburg to the little town of Oudtshoorn. We stared at 5 in the morning and reached our destination by dinner time. Drive was long but with amazing highways and a nice set of wheels it turned out to be fun.
Why Oudtshoorn: Frankly because we were visiting during the peak tourist season of December when most of South Africans and other tourists from across the globe descend to this part of the world to enjoy the sunny coastal weather. Since this vacation was planned last-minute we couldn’t get accommodation near the coast in towns like George, Knysna etc. Which would have been our first choice). Oudtshoorn which is 1.5 hrs from the coast actually turned out to be a great choice as its much less crowded.
Day 2 : We explored Oudtshoorn town starting with Cango Caves. This natural wonder is formed through drops of rain water seeping though earth and forming natural sculptures.
The 2 hour tour takes you miles deep into these beautiful caves. We then headed to one of the many Ostrich farms around. The economy of Oudtshoorn revolves around this interesting bird. Ostriches are used in many ways : their skin is used to make premium leather, Ostrich eggs are painted and sold for home decor and there are organized tours in Ostrich farms where you can actually ride an Ostrich.
Most restaurants here also sell Ostrich meat. It was indeed very interesting spending time getting to know this species from close quarters. We ended the day with a pretty drive across the Swartberg Pass followed by a Braai (South African term for Barbecue) at our resort.
Day 3 : On to the beaches
Today was all about hitting the coast. We left for the our first destination Plettenberg bay which was a couple of hrs away. Plan was to spend half a day there before moving on.
But when we reached there we were blown away by the beauty of this place and ended up spending most of our day there. We had anyway kept our itinerary flexible in order to spent more time at places that we enjoy. We had lunch at the Lookout Restaurant(Highly recommended) at the Lookout beach.
The view was brilliant and so was the food. We spent many hours chilling at this stunning spot. Next we went to Knysna where we spent a couple of hours admiring the beauty of Indian Ocean backwaters.
We wrapped up the day by stopping at one of the many beaches to enjoy the golden sunset.
Day 4 : Another day at the beaches…
We started the day driving through George on the way to the little town of Mossel Bay. We first headed to the wave pool where kids had a great time and then found a very interesting little spot where we spent most of our time. It was a little deserted spot with a pool of water flowing through it. Kids had a great time look for sea-shells around here. We then headed to another beach in Mossel Bay famed for its big waves and ideal place for surfing.
Day 5 : This was our final day. Our friends who had accompanied us headed this morning towards Cape Town. On the way they will spend a few days at the Wineries in Stellenbosch. Since we had covered these during our last trip, we started our long drive back to Jo’burg. What a fitting end to our stint in Africa. In 3 days we relocate to London where we will be based for next couple of years. While we are excited about moving to Europe, we will miss the amazing times we had in Africa.
P.S. : If we had time we would have spent a day heading towards Storm River where you can do bungee jump from highest bridge in the world. There are many other things to do on the Garden Route itself including quirky museum, shark cage diving, sunset cruise, water sports etc. It really depends on what your interests are. The roads are lovely, weather is amazing, food is incredible and views are breathtaking. You could pretty much charter your own path through the Garden Route. Happy Traveling 🙂
P.P.S : Things have been quiet on the blogging front for last 6 months. Earlier this year we moved to England and things have been really busy since. This blog is from our last trip in Africa. Hope your like it. Always leave some feedback and comments. Coming soon…our impressions from Italy…
Journeys Across Time 