Garden Route

The Garden Route runs along the Western Cape coast from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth and is so called because of its abundant plant life, Grootbos Nature Reserve alone has over 750 species of Fynbos. The Garden Route is sandwiched between the Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma Mountains and the Indian Ocean. The Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma indigenous forests offer hiking trails and numerous eco-tourism activities. Nearly 300 species of bird are found in a variety of habitats ranging from fynbos to forest to wetlands. Explore the Knysna Heads that protect the naturally occurring Knysna Lagoon.

Ten nature reserves embrace the varied ecosystems of the area as well as unique marine reserves, home to soft coral reefs, dolphins, seals and a host of other marine life. Various bays along the Garden Route are nurseries to the endangered Southern Right and Humpback Whales which come there to calve in the winter and spring (July to December). Hermanus can give you some of the best land based whale watching in the World.

The Garden Route and its surrounds are not only home to spectacular beaches and forests — some of South Africa’s most prestigious malaria free safari lodges and game reserves are scattered along this stretch as well. Offering the closest ‘real safari’ experience to Cape Town and located in malaria-free areas.