Hermanus
This morning your rental vehicle is delivered to your accommodation in Cape Town. Once the collection procedures and documentation are completed, you leave the city behind and make your way to the seaside town of Hermanus. This drive includes the scenic, coast-hugging Clarence Drive and passes through a number of sleepy coastal villages. Hermanus sits atop a promontory of Walker Bay, which welcomes hundreds of whales every winter. Even during the ‘off season’ for whale watching, there is still some marvelous scenery to be absorbed along a 12km network of clifftop paths that stretch from one side of the town to the other. You may also wish to take a drive up the nearby Hemel-en-Aarde (“Heaven and Earth” in Afrikaans) Valley, to enjoy this community’s offerings of wineries, restaurants and unique coastal forest.
Cape Town to Hermanus = 150km via the scenic coastal route.
Your safari cost includes vehicle hire in an Avis Group M, Compact SUV 4x2 with unlimited mileage.
- Main Destination:
- Hermanus (Whales)
- Accommodation:
- Hermanus Boutique Guest House
- Meals & Drinks:
Swellendam
Today offers plenty of time for some relaxed sightseeing and scenic driving. A short drive from Hermanus is the charming country village of Stanford, renowned for its many well-preserved old cottages and Victorian houses. There’s also a number of highly regarded antique shops as well as a micro-brewery and fledgling wine route. From here you can meander through the rural countryside, visiting another scenic town, Napier and enjoy some coffee’n’cake at one of the region’s padstals (a roadside farm stall). You may also wish to take a detour to set foot at Cape L’Agulhas and the most southerly tip of Africa, and also take a short game drive through Bontebok National Park. Your destination is Swellendam - over 250 years old and preserved in small town charm with wide streets, neatly preserved Cape Dutch and Victorian buildings, and many excellent places to enjoy some South African cuisine.
Hermanus to Swellendam = 150km (direct) or 250km (via coastal route & Cape L’Agulhas).
- Main Destination:
- Swellendam (Town)
- Accommodation:
- The Windmill Guesthouse
- Meals & Drinks:
Oudtshoorn & the Klein Karoo
You now travel to the historical port town of Mossel Bay to visit the Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex, named after the Portuguese maritime explorer credited with the first successful navigation around the treacherous Cape of Good Hope and who first set foot on South African soil near Mossel Bay in 1488. The complex includes a Maritime Museum with a life-size replica of one of the caravels used by the Portuguese explorers. Here you’ll also find “The Post Office Tree” – an indigenous Milkwood tree that has been used as a mail collection point since the 1500s. You then head north through the Outeniqua mountain range to the Klein (“Little”) Karoo and the charming town of Oudtshoorn, the capital of Africa’s ostrich industry. This afternoon you may wish to visit to an ostrich ranch and complete your day with a guided walk within the spectacular Cango Caves.
Swellendam to Oudtshoorn = 250km; 90km round trip from Oudtshoorn to visit Cango Caves and Cango Ostrich Farm.
- Main Destination:
- Oudtshoorn (Garden Route)
- Accommodation:
- La Pension Guest House
- Meals & Drinks:
Knysna & the Garden Route
Today starts with an early rise to encounter a wild (but habituated) colony of meerkats in their natural habitat. You then head south back through the mountains and enter the famed Garden Route, a scenic coastal strip stretching 300km from Mossel Bay to Storms River. Along the way to Knysna you may wish to stop in a typically laid-back Garden Route village, such as Wilderness or Sedgefield.
Your Meerkat Adventure takes place on a farm that has retained the meerkat's natural habitat and is home to a colony of these comical animals. Meerkats dislike the cold and only exit their burrow once the sun has risen. By then you are seated on a portable chair and have already had an informative briefing on their intriguing lives. After warming up, the younger ones start to play while the adults start digging for grubs. The troop then disperses into a loose group and you follow them for a while, learning about a day in the life of a meerkat.
Oudtshoorn to Knysna = 120km via George (direct).
- Main Destination:
- Garden Route
- Accommodation:
- Alfreds Manor
- Meals & Drinks:
Knysna
Knysna is a pretty town surrounded by forests and rivers and is also the oyster capital of South Africa. The Knysna Lagoon - more accurately defined as an estuary - has five fresh water rivers flowing in from the surrounding Outeniqua Mountain range, which meet the Indian Ocean through grand sandstone cliffs towering above the lagoon’s entrance, known as Knysna Heads. There is a wide choice of lagoon cruises to enjoy during your time here. You may also wish to visit some of the nearby attractions, such as Birds of Eden, Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary, Tenikwa Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre and the Elephant Sanctuary.
- Main Destination:
- Knysna (Garden Route)
- Accommodation:
- Alfreds Manor
- Meals & Drinks:
Nature’s Valley
In arguably the most beautiful part of the Garden Route, the village of Nature's Valley is unique in that it lies nestled in the Tsitsikamma National Park coastal forest - the only residential area within a South African National Park. To the south of Nature's Valley is the Indian Ocean, to the east is the Groot River lagoon, and to the north and west is the Tsitsikamma Forest, with the majestic Tsitsikamma, Kouga, Kammanassie and Groot Swart mountain ranges flanking this coastal area. Today is yours to immerse yourself in nature – hike, swim, explore, meditate, absorb. Or you may prefer to visit some of the nearby attractions, such as Birds of Eden, Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary, Tenikwa Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre and the Elephant Sanctuary.
Knysna to Nature’s Valley = 65km.
- Main Destination:
- Nature's Valley (Town)
- Accommodation:
- Kamma-Otter
- Meals & Drinks:
Port Elizabeth
This morning offers more exploration of the Garden Route, including the Storms River Mouth section of the Garden Route National Park, the 120m-high Storms River Bridge, and the famous surfing town of Jeffrey’s Bay. Your destination today is the pleasant port city of Port Elizabeth where time permitting, you may wish to embark on the Route 67 walking trail. Your accommodation is just a short walk away from Humewood Beach and many dining options for your last evening.
Note: It’s possible to end your Garden Route journey on this day, arriving at Port Elizabeth airport in time for a late afternoon flight to Johannesburg.
Nature’s Valley to Port Elizabeth = 220km (direct) or 235km (via Jeffrey’s Bay).
- Main Destination:
- Port Elizabeth (City)
- Accommodation:
- Conifer Guest House
- Meals & Drinks:
Farewell
A 10-minute drive from your accommodation is Port Elizabeth Airport, where you return your rental vehicle and fly to Johannesburg for your onward travel arrangements.
- Main Destination:
- No major destination visited
- Accommodation:
- No accommodation (End of tour)
- Meals & Drinks: