Have you ever driven through a place and it just takes your breath away? That was my first experience driving on the national road through the Tsitsikamma national park on what is internationally known as The Garden Route.
Tsitsikamma National Park
Situated on the edge of the Eastern Cape, bordering the Western Cape lies this splendor of natural beauty. A forest covering dramatic mountain ranges with rivers cut through it will make you stop to appreciate the majestic nature of this place.
Storm’s River Gorge | Tsitsikamma National Park
If you are someone that likes to get active, Tsitsikamma offers a wide range of activities from Segway tours through the forest, starting at $55 per person for an hour long ride, The Storm’s River Kayak and Lilo tours (pictured above) at $40pp, Canopy Tours through the indigenous rainforest ($40pp) and quad bike tours for both singles and couples that even offer a picnic on a romantic lookout spot, priced from $38 for singles to $52 for couples sharing a quad.
Where to stay
While Tsitsikamma offers a wide range of accommodation options, none will guarantee you a more unique experience than the glass dome or pyramid on offer by Misty Mountain Reserve, a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will make even your grandmother take out her flip-phone for some snaps and post them on instagram!
How to get there
Depending on where your South Africa trip started, you have a few options, however one I would recommend avoiding driving through the Eastern Cape to get there. Filled with rural towns and terrible roads, this is one to miss as it takes forever and doesn’t offer much in terms of a scenic route.
The Tsitsikamma National Park is about a 7-hour drive from popular Cape Town, or an hour by plane from both Cape Town or KwaZulu Natal International airports to the Port Elizabeth airport, followed by a 2-hour drive.
Plettenberg Bay
Nominated as Africa’s leading beach destination for the 14th time in 2023 by the World Travel Awards, having taken the trophy home in 2020, just about sums it up.
Plett (as its know by locals) is conveniently situated between Tsitsikamma and Knysna, about 40 min’s drive from the national park. Offering stunning beaches, winelands and a wide range of outdoor activities makes it worth a 2-3 day stop on your trip.
Start your day off with Breakfast at Old Nick’s village where you will find a lot of small charming shops like the Shautany Chocolatiers, a pottery studio, a ceramic shop selling things like hand-made plates, a wine tasting room and a few more. The venue is also host to the Mungo Mill, an operational fabric mill that takes you for a tour through historic mills and how they turn string into linen.
Not far down the road you will find Keurboom Strand, a small coastal village with some of the most incredible beaches. Get there before noon and the water has this silver shine to it from the sunlight’s reflection. There is also an italian restaurant (Enrico’s) that was unfortunately closed during my visit, but looks like it could be a great spot during high season!
The Plett Wine Route
Back on the main road, having sufficiently oiled your liver, it’s time to start your 4-stop wine tour. Starting at The Crags, there are 3 wine farms within a stone’s throw of each other. The first stop on your list is Bramon Wine Estate, a small charming winery where the tables extend into the vineyard for a unique tasting experience. While offering a few different wines, at the time, they only had one of their own on offer.
Next stop, just opposite the main road is the Newstead Winery. A bit more posh with a great restaurant. Offering an intimate atmosphere, you can hang here by one of their many fireplaces for hours on end.
Further down the same road (with some untarred driving) lies Kay & Monty Vineyard, a beautiful modern wine estate with oversized furniture to fill it’s large shed-like structure. They offer wine tasting as well as lunch overlooking a small dam, however I would implore you to hold yourself back for the final stop on our list.
The creme-de-la-creme of the Plett wine farms is without a doubt the Bitou Wine Farm on your way back to Plett central. This place has a rich history, originally being home to the award-winning Plett Polo Club, after which it was turned into a vineyard in 2012. Dilapidated, a new owner took over in 2014 and began investing heavily into the estate, turning the old stables into the cellar, expanding the grape varieties planted & type of wines produced, as well as building a brand new state-of-the-art restaurant overlooking the vineyard.
This must have been my favorite stop on my entire trip to Plett. The wine is good, the food is incredible and the venue is just breathtaking. You might want to call ahead on special occasions as it is often fully booked for lunch.
For activities, Plett offers abseiling, horseback riding and if you like being out in the ocean, you can even rent a boat at the Plett marina! There is also a national park with some great picnic spots, as well as a lion park, an elephant sanctuary and a monkey sanctuary back at The Crags.
Knysna
For your trip to Knysna, you need a set of wheels. Preferably something with windows because it gets cold here. Why wheels, you might ask?
In a way, Knysna reminds me a lot of places like Koh Samui & Koh Phangan. It’s small, charming, and you’re never more than a few hundred meters away from the next great restaurant, bistro bar or lookout point. It’s like God took a bucket of view-points and just chucked it all on one town.
Nothing really opens before 8am so you can sleep in, but from there your day will be non-stop. I must have visited 7 or 8 different places in one day on my last trip, it’s that type of spot.
Start with Breakfast at the famous íle de pain bakery & restaurant and explore the motorcycle museum on Thesen Island. Pop around to Belvedere for a visit to the historic ‘The Bell’ Tavern on the other side of the estuary, or drive up the mountain a bit further where you will find Lake Brenton to your left where deer roams freely and for some awesome picnic spots on the water.
A bit further down towards the end of the mountain lies Brenton on Sea where which is home to the stunning Butterfly Blu Restaurant, right on the rocks. A great spot for evening dinners.
Back on the main road (N2), just a bit outside of Knysna lies Buffalo Bay (Buffelsbaai), home to some of the nicest beaches and incredible surf. It’s a great place to hang out on sunny days as there is a lot of grassed areas by the sea, as well as a restaurant overlooking the water. I was too stuffed at this point to eat any more, so if you do happen to find it and have a bite, let me know how it is!
Heading back to Knysna, take a tour of The Heads where you will find two more restaurants, each with a view. Thereafter, go for a drive around town and check out Leisure Island before going for a massage at Simola or if you haven’t booked, the local Thai Spa will squeeze you in for a quick one too.
By now it’s 7pm and you probably need dinner. Check out the Drydock Restaurant for a buzzing atmosphere on the Knysna Waterfront, surrounded by luxury yachts, and close the night off back at Thesen Island by going for a last round or two at Tapas Bar, where you will find good live music that’s not too loud and a lot of energy from the locals.
On the activity front, there are a few things to do, but some of my favorites in Knysna is the downhill scooter tour through the Knysna mountains ($30), and a sunset cruise around the quay on yacht for as little as $23. Day trips also available.
What accommodation is concerned, I encourage you to steer clear of any hotels, not because they’re not any good, but because the AirBnb’s have so much to offer. On my first visit, I booked a glass house on the river. We’d wake up in the morning, listening to the ducks play on the water, followed by a coffee on the deck. Knysna is generally quite chilly, which makes for evenings spent in front of the fireplace, hanging with mates or reading a book with a glass of wine. Thesen Island also offers a long list of great accommodation options, right on the water, all of which can be found at very reasonable rates on AirBnb.
Things to do on your trip to the Garden Route
- Tsitsikamma Segway Tours – http://www.segwayfun.co.za/
- Storm’s River Kayak & Lili Tours – https://www.untouchedadventures.com/adventure-activities/kayak-lilo-up-the-storms-river-gorge-in-tsitsikamma/
- Tsitsikamma Canopy Tours – https://www.canopytour.co.za/locations/tsitsikamma/
- Tsitsikamma quad bike tours – https://www.tsiadventure.com/tour-info
- A stay at Misty Mountain Reserve, Tstitsikamma – https://www.mistymountainreserve.co.za/
- Robberg abseiling – https://adventurezone.activitar.com/services/13879
- Horse Riding, Kurland Park – https://horseridinggardenroute.com/
- Breakfast / lunch at île de païn – https://iledepain.co.za
- Knysna Scooter Tours – https://scootours.co.za/knysna-forest/
- Knysna Sunset Cruise – https://www.oceansailingcharters.co.za
The Garden Route offers one of the most well-rounded holidays you can have, there is truly something for everyone and worth a solid 10-14 days on your next trip.