Garden Route Uncovered

After breakfast, visit the spectacularly beautiful Tsitsikamma National Park and Storms River Mouth (weather permitting). The Tsitsikamma National Park incorporates 80 km of rocky coastline with spectacular sea and landscapes, a remote mountainous region with secluded valleys covered in mountain Fynbos, and temperate high forests with deep river gorges leading down to the sea. Our next stop is Mungo, a family-owned and managed textile mill in Plettenberg Bay, producing fine quality textiles, using antique looms alongside modern weaving technology. Afterwards, we’ll continue our travels to Knysna, known as the oyster box of South Africa, nestling on the banks of a beautiful lagoon, in the heart of the Garden Route. Enjoy a sunset cruise to the Knysna Heads, before sitting down for dinner at Drydock Restaurant, renowned for dishes with glorious aromas and flavours, using the finest local ingredients and freshly picked herbs from the region. Distance travelled today: 100 kms.

Meal Plan: Breakfast and Dinner

After breakfast, visit the Outeniqua Transport Museum in George. This museum offers a unique experience of the Garden Route’s railway history, showcasing a vast collection of vintage vehicles, locomotives and other transport related artifacts. Travel through the Outeniqua Pass to Oudtshoorn, known as the “ostrich capital” and the centre of the world’s Ostrich farming industry. Along the way, visit ‘Dolphin Point’, an extraordinary viewpoint in Wilderness. In Oudtshoorn, we’ll visit an Ostrich Farm for a fun-filled interactive tour and light lunch that includes local specialities such as Ostrich Steak, before taking a tour of the spectacular limestone caverns of the Cango Caves, one of the world’s great natural wonders, sculpted by nature through the ages. We will arrive at our hotel in the late afternoon, in time to check in and relax before dinner (for our own account). Overnight in Oudtshoorn. Distance travelled today: 210 kms.

Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch

There is an option (for own account and subject to availability) to enjoy an early morning Meerkat Safari. Witness these incredible wild habituated creatures emerging out of their burrows, in time to soak up the sun before they head about their daily activities (weather permitting). A portion of the monies paid by guests for this TRAVEL WITH A PURPOSE activity goes towards the Buffelsdrift Foundation, that focusses on Wildlife conservation in the Klein Karoo region, habitat conservation and the local community. Afterwards, the journey continues through the ‘Little Karoo’ to Barrydale, where you will have the opportunity to visit a local farm school, to interact with the children and teachers, spending time with them in the classroom, learning more about this rural community. A portion of the trip monies goes towards our Barrydale Farm School Development Fund, which supports local education of underprivileged children in rural communities.  (The school visit is subject to the school being open. Continue via the Tradouw’s pass to Swellendam and then further to the seaside resort of Hermanus, known as the heart of the whale route, offering the best land-based whale watching (August-November) in the world. Overnight in Hermanus. Distance travelled today: 365 kms.

Meal Plan: Breakfast

After a leisurely breakfast, depart Hermanus and continue to Somerset West, travelling via the spectacularly scenic coastal road and then onwards to Stellenbosch, set in the beautiful Cape Winelands. You’ll have some free time to explore the town’s oak-shaded streets, cafés, boutiques, and art galleries before travelling to Cape Town, where the tour ends on arrival. Distance travelled today: 160 kms.

Meal Plan: Breakfast