Garden Route

This morning your guide will collect you from the guesthouse and you will drive on through stunning fields, winelands, and mountain passes before you descend again towards the sea. Make stops along the way for impromptu wine tasting, visit shops, or drive directly to Knysna. This small city along the lagoon is "the gem" of the garden route and home to many activities and sights. The transfer time will be approximately 4-5 hours depending on the number of stops made along the way. Please note all entrance fees are to be paid directly.

Knysna offers a wide range of activities ranging from animal viewing to adventure activities. Optional activities on site include: Featherbed Nature Reserve, Storm's River, Monkeyland, Cango Caves, Cango Ostrich Farm, Cango Wildlife Ranch with its endangered species and big cats, cheetah centre and more. For the more adventurous, sign up for activities like mountain biking, quad biking, helicopter tours, forest exploration, rock climbing, para-gliding, kloofing, abseiling, black water tubing, Treetop Canopy Tours (zip lining, bungee jumping, etc.), sky diving, Tsitsikama Falls, motorcycle adventures, horseback riding... Some of the water activities include: Paddle Cruiser, private charter sail boats/yachts/charters, John Benn floating restaurant, boat cruises, paddle surfing, kite surfing, canoeing, wakeboarding, waterskiing, tubing, Pontoon Cruises, kayak, shore scuba diving, fishing, and swim with seals!

Sign up for activities that interest you or arrange them in advance. Speak to your guide or travel advisor for more details.

Start with a scenic drive to the top of the Heads, dramatic cliffs which overlook the Indian Ocean on our side and the town and lagoon towards the distant Outeniqua Mountains on the other side. Take a 25-minute ferry ride across Knysna's magnificent estuary to a secluded nature reserve, home to a variety of wildlife, Knysna loeries, the blue crane, and one of Africa's smallest antelope, the blue duiker. On arrival, a 4x4 trailer takes you to the summit of the Western Headland for a spectacular panorama view of the Knysna Basin and the sea. After admiring the view, take a gentle walk through a Milkwood forest, into caves and along the coastline back to the restaurant. Enjoy a spectacular lunch in the Food Forest, an outside eating area set amongst the Milkwood trees. The speciality is fish cooked over an open fire. Continue to The Elephant Sanctuary where you will join an hour long trunk in hand experience. This will involve you walking with the elephants through the forest where you will learn about these amazing animals from their habits to their anatomy. The Crags Elephant sanctuary provides a safe haven for six elephants and a platform for guest’s education and interaction.

After a spectacular drive over the Outeniqua Mountain Pass, we enter the red semi-desert of the Little Karoo. We start with a short tour of the town and then go on to the Cango Caves for a tour. 29km from Oudtshoorn, at the head of the picturesque Cango Valley, lay the spectacular underground wonder of the Klein Karoo - the Cango Caves. Situated in a limestone ridge parallel to the well known Wartburg Mountains, you will find the finest dripstone caverns, with their vast halls and towering formations. Enjoy a visit to the Cango Wildlife Ranch, endangered species breeding facility extraordinaire. The oldest and biggest cheetah contact centre worldwide offers visitors the rare opportunity of interacting with the hand reared cheetahs and getting actively involved in saving this species and others from extinction. From there we continue to the Safari Ostrich Farm to see one of the world’s most peculiar birds. Enjoy a tour of the farm, a traditional ostrich lunch (own cost) and perhaps even an ostrich race. Return back to the hotel late this afternoon

Enjoy an incredibly scenic drive between Cape Town and Oudtshoorn today. Pass through hills, mountains, and wine regions. Make additional stops along the way at little restaurants, stop for a wine tasting, or drive direct. This drive takes approx. 5-6hrs. Once in Oudtshoorn you'll have the chance to enjoy optional activities or simply relax.