Detour #132: The Coastal Garden Route, South Africa
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South Africa’s Coastal Garden Route offers 124 miles of driving pleasure from Mossel Bay to the Storms River, the border between the Western and the Eastern Cape. It’s a drive Elsa Dixon knows like the back of her hand.
In 1488, the Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias first set foot in Mossel Bay. One of his sailors left a letter in a boot under a giant old milkwood tree for someone from the next ship heading home to collect. Thus, the tree became the first ‘post office’ in South Africa. Although most travellers will begin their journeys in Cape Town, some 240 miles to the west, this picturesque town is the official start of the Coastal Garden Route.
Leaving Mossel Bay, you follow the N2 inland over a mountain pass to reach the town of George, named after England’s King George III. Lying at the foot of the Outeniqua mountains, it’s famous for its forests, and colourful flora and if you want to learn more about fynbos then check out the Garden Route Botanical Garden.
From here the road carries on up the mountainside, winds through river gorges, and crosses the Kaaiman’s River. To fully view the gorgeous Wilderness bay, pull off the road immediately before reaching the town. Nature lovers, whale- and bird-watchers flock to this area.
The N2 then snakes along the tranquil Knysna National Lakes, the indigenous forests, and the Knysna Estuary. Two sandstone buttresses called the Knysna Heads guard the Estuary. Take the road to a high lookout point near the East Head Café for magnificent views of the Indian ocean and the lakes.
Photo Meelan Bawjee / Unsplash
Knysna Quays Waterfront has many home industry outlets if you’re looking for arts and crafts. Love seafood? Time your visit to coincide with the excellent July Oyster Festival. There is plenty of accommodation available, even houseboats to rent. A little further along this stretch of road, you will come across the Knysna Elephant Sanctuary where you can sleep with the elephants. The lounge overlooks the area where the elephants like to wander in for a snooze!
Plettenberg Bay, a trendy, bustling seaside town, is only a twelve-minute drive further. Then, for a fantastic experience, turn off at the Birds of Eden Aviary, the world’s largest free-flight bird sanctuary. The dome spans about five football fields of indigenous forest and reaches more than 180 feet above the ground. The sanctuary houses more than 3,500 birds from about 220 primarily African species. Listen for the gravelly call of the Knysna Turaco (loerie) endemic to this area.
Photo Captureson Photography / Unsplash
The N2 now leads into Tsitsikamma. Tall shadows darken the road as you enter forests of giant Outeniqua yellowwoods and stinkwoods. Take a stroll along the laid-out path through indigenous lilies and orchids to the Big Tree, an eight-hundred-year-old Yellowwood, 120 feet tall and 30 feet round. The Tsitsikamma National Park includes a marine reserve extending about three miles into the Indian ocean.
There are two impressive bridges along the Garden Route, the Bloukrans bridge and the Paul Sauer bridge across the Storms River. Both offer bungee jumping, but for the most daring, at 709 feet, the Bloukrans bungee jumping just outside Nature Valley is the highest in the world. If you’re a little less daring then the the Otter Trail originates at the Storms River taking one through forests, rivers, waterfalls, and along clifftops to end in Nature Valley.
As for when to take this scenic, tranquil drive, any time except December when it’s at its busiest will deliver a South African experience to savour.