Category: Nature and wildlife
Recommended length of stay: 7 – 10 days
Currency: Rand
Timezone: GMT +1
Perfect for: Nature, beaches, Romance, Sun and Animal lovers
Target Group: Anyone, except families with kids as the passes and nature parks might bore them a bit
What is the Garden Route?
The Garden Route is a road that runs from Mossel Bay to Port Elizabeth, mainly along the N2. Along this road you will find a large diversity of vegetation and parks that you can visit. The Route itself is primarily along the N2. However, speaking from a personal experience, you will see fantastic places if you take the time to go off the beaten track and take your time along the Garden Route.
Some highlights along the Garden Route:
Tsitsikamma National Park is the pearl of the Garden Route with its’ fantastic Suspension Bridge and its 1000 year old ‘Grootboom’ – Big Tree. This is also where the Stormsriver goes into the ocean and it’s a place with stunning gorges and alcoves.
Monkeyland and Birds of Eden. They shouldn’t be put together as they are both gems in their own right, but as they are located next to one another, I would recommend you to take at least half a day out of your schedule and go visit these 2 places. In Monkeyland, you will see a range of monkeys, doing what monkey do and in general a very entertaining time. In Birds of Eden we encountered one of the most beautiful birds parks we’ve ever seen in the world. Inside is a path to follow, but you don’t really want to move as you’re just amazed by the beautiful and intriguing birds you see everywhere.
Montagu Pass. There’s an easier and faster way to get from Knysna to Oudtshoorn and you need to enjoy driving passes, but the Montagu Pass is a spectacular pass to drive. This is more off the beaten track and you do hope that no one encounters you or wants to overtake you, but the vistas along this drive are absolutely worth the detour. Although a 4x4 is not required, we found that it would have made things a bit easier.
Prince Albert. This village makes you feel like you’ve gone back in time. We arrived there through another detour passing through the ‘Meiringspoort’. The village is on the other side of the Swartberg mountain range and is effectively in the Karoo, an area with a different climate and vegetation. It’s much dryer and warmer here. The land is more barren and red from drought. So a real change from what you experience on the Garden Route.
Oudtshoorn is a real hidden gem. It has the charm of an western village, with the forgotten wealth of the start of the 20th Century. There are quite a few things to do around here, so taking 2 days out of your schedule to spend in and around Oudtshoorn is something I can only recommend. My favourite was the Meerkat tour on the property of the ‘de Zeekoe farm’. They have a colony of meerkats living there. Other highlights are the Cango Caves, Cango Wildlife farm and visiting an Ostrich farm.
We arrived in Oudtshoorn by driving over the Swartberg Pass, which must be on everyone's itinery. There is such a difference in vegetation going from one side to the other and the views are absolutely spectacular.
For the meerkat tour, you have to pre-book and get to a pre-arranged meeting point very early in the morning. Although kids will love meerkats, it’s not something I recommend you to bring young kids to, as they will have to sit quietly and in the cold for approximately 2 hours.
We also loved the Cango Wildlife Ranch. We booked the VIP tour and had the opportunity to see each show as we went through the park and then we were allowed to take pictures with 5 animals. Meeting the Cheetahs and touching them was one of the highlights of our trip, along with the baby white-tiger.
Monkeyland
Tsitsikamma National Park - Stormsriver Mouth Suspension Bridge
Montagu Pass
Prince Albert
Swartberg Pass
Cango Caves
Cango Ostrich Park
Meeting the meerkats at the property of the 'de Zeekoe'
Masaging a Cheetah
I hope I have given enough inspiration for you to go there yourself. There is too much to see and do, to describe, so if you want any additional information or recommendations, feel free to contact me or ask below.
!steemitworldmap -33.6228919 lat 22.1195692,13 long Oudtshoorn, South-Africa D3SCR
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