DAY 1 Port Elizabeth – Garden Route – Knysna
We depart from Port Elizabeth on the Garden Route tour along the N2 national route to the Storms River. This is the beginning of the Garden Route – with the impressive Paul Sauer Bridge across the valley towering some one hundred and thirty- nine meters above the river.
The next stop is at Tsitsikamma National Park (Khoisan for the place of much water) stretching over one hundred kilometers of wild and rocky coastline. It is characterized by massive cliffs, narrow isolated beaches, and indigenous forests along the river valleys. Here you can do a relaxing walk/hike to the suspension bridge stretching over the mouth of the Storms River. From here you travel to The Bloukrans Bridge, 216 meters (709 feet) above the Bloukrans River. The Bloukrans Bungee is the world’s highest commercial bungee bridge and is the highest commercial natural bungee jump in the world!
Before entering Plettenberg Bay we visit the Birds of Eden. This unique two-hectare dome (the world’s largest) spans over a gorge of indigenous forest. Currently, more than 3,500 birds from over 220 species, with the main focus being African birds are here. Then a short visit to Monkeyland, the world’s first free-roaming multi-species primate sanctuary. On this visit, you can expect to see a variety of primates, ranging from the Gibbons of Asia to the Lemurs of Madagascar. More than 700 primates live at the sanctuary. Travelling past Plettenberg Bay to Knysna on the edge of the Knysna Lagoon with its entrance to the sea guarded by two promontories known as the ‘Heads’. The area also falls within a National Park proclaimed to conserve the extraordinary natural beauty of the Lakeland and adjacent indigenous forests. Knysna also offers shopping opportunities for unusual locally made art and craft, etc. Overnight in Knysna at the Augusta Bay Lodge.
DAY 2 George – Oudtshoorn
Spend the morning in Knysna visiting the “Heads” etc. Knysna also offers shopping opportunities for unusual locally made art and craft, etc. This afternoon you experience some of the most magical views on the Garden Route and Wilderness National Park and scenic viewpoints along the way. Travel over the Outeniqua Mountains to the Little Karoo. Here we visit the Cango Wildlife Ranch and Valley of Ancients, an endangered species breeding facility extraordinaire. Then travel to our hotel. Overnight La Plume Lodge.
DAY 3 Oudtshoorn – Mossel Bay
After breakfast, you visit an Ostrich Show Farm for some unique experiences including ostrich racing. A ride on the back of an ostrich is not for the fainthearted. You visit the Cango caves, regarded as one of South Africa’s foremost natural wonders. The fascinating calcite caves comprise an underground wonderland of stalactites and stalagmites. Visit Oudtshoorn, also called the “Feather capital” of the world. We find over ninety percent of the world’s ostrich farms here. Continue to Mossel Bay where you spend the night. Overnight at Bar-T-Nique Lodge
DAY 4 Swellendam – Hermanus – Cape Town
You visit arguably the oldest post office in Africa, the Post Office Tree. The Portuguese explorer, Bartholomew Dias, made landfall here in 1488. Continue to Hermanus, the best place in the World to spot Whales from land – (July to Dec). After lunch you depart for Cape Town via the beautiful coastal route between Hermanus and Gordon’s Bay, arriving late afternoon.