Garden Route

Hotels in Garden Route

South Africa’s Garden Route is a spectacular road trip along the coast from Mossel Bay east to Storms River. Sandwiched between the Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma mountains and the Indian Ocean, the road is named not for its floral gardens but because of its lush and varied vegetation, so different from the country’s harsh, dry interior.

 

From Mossel Bay, na old-fashioned seaside town, the N2 links a series of charming towns, with areas of great natural beauty in between. This is part of the Cape Floral Region, named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. It is famed for its fymbos, natural heathland vegetation that includes 9000 species, 6200 of which endemic. Of these, many are flowering and others are fragrant. Rooibos and honeybush are both commercially harvested, and one of the many proteas, Protea cymaroides, is South Africa’s national flower.

Pass through the Wilderness National Park - its lagoons and wetland are home to 250 species of bird, including Knysna Lourie, a bright green bird with red wings, and many kingfishers.

 

If you like oysters, you can feast on them here to your heart’s content, and of course the local wines are excellent. From Plettenberg Bay, another seaside resort, the road descends sharply, winding through old growth forest until it reaches the finest stretch of untamed coastline in Tsitsikamma National Park, before reaching the journey’s end at Storms River.

Along the way there is much to do, hiking, diving, kayaking or even playing golf. Keep an eye open for the very rare Knysna elephants - a handful are said to roam the magnificent yellowwods between Knysna and Plettenberg. Perhaps you’d like to travel on the last continuosly operating steam train on the continent, the steam train Choo Tjoe, currently running only between Mossel Bay and George, after mud slides in 2006 damaged the track.

 

HOW

By car

WHEN TO GO

November to May

TIME IT TAKES

It is possible to drive in a day, but to enjoy and appreciate this trip you should spend several days, up to a week.

HIGHLIGHTS

Watch the endangered southern right whales in their calving grounds, November and December.

Go cage diving with great white sharks at Gansbaii.

Cable slide across the rainforest canopy in Tsitsikamma.

Visit an ostrich farm at Oudtshoorn.

YOU SHOULD KNOW

The Garden Route and the Wine Route are sufficiently cloe together to move easily between the two. If this is your plan, give yourself a few extra days.

Hotels in Garden Route

 

Krom River Trail

Hotels in Western Cape

Sadly this great river, along with its associated wetlands, is coming under increasing pressure from the development demands of modern South Africa, with consequent degradation. But it is still possible to experience the pristine beauty of the Krom River and environs as it has always been by hiking various marked trails in Limietberg Nature Reserve, which is located in the De Toitskloof Pass between Paar and Worcester in the Western Cape. To hike the Krom River Trail, approach through the Huguenot Tunnel from the Worcester side and park. A permit from Cape Nature is required.

 

The Trail is 7 km (4.4 mi) long, and can be comfortably walked in half a day. No guide is needed, though sensible pre-hike precautions (appropriate clothing plus a basic supply of food and water) should be taken. The Trail crosses the Molenaars River and ascends along the right-hand slope above the Krom River. It passes through an area of indigenous forest and reaches a waterfall with pool beneath. There is then a hair-raising climb up a chain ladder to a second fall and pool - this waterfall in its lush setting is one of the very best in the whole Western Cape. The Trail then returns by the same route.

 

There are other rewarding trails in the park - each different, each taking no more than a day. The Rock Hopper Trail from Eerste Tol to Tweede Tol is more adventurous, and involves finding your own way down (or up) an 8-kru (5-mi) stretch of the Witte River's boulder - strewn riverbed, using a combination of walking, swimming and rock - scrambling. This Trail requires a drop-off at the beginning and pick - up at the end. The Elands Trail initially involves a steep climb, providing great valley and river views, before descending to Fisherman's Cave with its inviting pool.

 

HOW

On foot

WHEN TO GO

October to May

TIME IT TAKES

A few hours

HIGHLIGHTS

A plunge into one of the splendidly cooling swimming pools that greet you enticingly at either end of the Krom River Trail.

Views of Du Toits Peak – highest point of the Limietberg Nature Reserve at 1,996 m (6,557 ft).

The animals and birds – including klipspringer, baboon, caracal, an occasional leopard, Cape sugarbird, protea canary and black eagle.

YOU SHOULD KNOW

Be prepared to meet anglers along the Trail- the Krom is a popular trout-fishing river.

Hotels in Western Cape

 

Table Mountain Aerial Cableway

Hotels in Cape Town

Opened in 1929, and extensively refurbished in 1997 when new cars and double cabling were introduced, the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway has transported more than 16 million people to the top of Table Mountain, a dramatic ride wblch offer I wonderful views of Cape Town and surrounds, both on the way up and from the summit.

This isn't a journey for- the faint-hearted (or vertigo sufferers). Some 1,200 m (3,940 ft) of cable link the Lower Cable Station on Tafelberg Road near Kloof Nek with the Upper Cable Station on the westernmost end of the Table Mountain Plateau. In the course of their upward journey, the cars rise steeply from a height of 302 m (990 ft) to 1,067 m (3,500 ft). The latest Rotair cars can each earn  65 passengers, more than doubling the capacity of the old cars.

Once up there are various pathways leading to stunning views over Cape Town, Table Bay, Robben Island, Cape Flats and the Cape Peninsula. There are three signed walks. Klipspinger Walk follows the plateau edge above Platteklip Gorge. Agama Walk has been designed to give wonderful all-round views of Cape Town. Dassie Walk offers spectacular views to the north, south and west. There are two free, guided plateau tours each day, at 10.00 am and noon.

Directions to the Cableway are found on all major roads into and in Cape Town - follow the brown information boards. There is ample parking near the lower cable station. You can't book in advance, but queuing is rarely necessary. Hours of operation vary according to season, and the service can be suspended at short notice if wind speeds become too severe. Always take a jacket, as it is usually much cooler above than below.

 

HOW

By cable car

WHEN TO GO

Any time of year

TIME IT TAKES

Ten minutes

HIGHLIGHTS

Seeing a 360° View of Cape Town during the journey, thanks to the cable car's rotating floor.

An extraordinary diversity of pIant life on the summit - look especially for the sunshine conebushes in full flower (summer  only).

· Doing it the hard way - a serious hike from Plattklip Gorge to the · Upper Cable Station, returning by cable car (or vice versa if you want gravity on your side).

YOU SHOULD KNOW

The dassie, or rock hyrax - a small rabbit-lik.e creature likely to be encountered on the flat summit – is surprisingly the elephant's ciosest Hving anatomical relative.