Things to see & do along the Garden Route

When is a route more than just a way from one place to another? When it’s the Garden Route in South Africa. This much celebrated section of the southern coast encompasses many of the best things to do in South Africa in one neat package, from wildlife watching to wine tasting. Adventure is easily accessible along the route, with fairytale forests for hiking in, blissful beaches, craggy coves and whales that skim the coast on their annual migration. Short detours take you from the coast to the mountains or the dry Little Karoo to see the Big Five, ostriches and impressive cave systems. Suddenly, ‘garden’ sounds deceptively tame and ‘route’ sounds decidedly A to B-ish. In fact, the Garden Route is wild and wonderful, with the real excitement happening when you get out of the car.

Officially the Garden Route stretches from Mossel Bay to Storms River, and is so named for all the lush and diverse vegetation flourishing here, but getting too precise about start and end points misses out the bigger picture – a picture that includes all the wild and exciting landscapes that lie along the longer route between Port Elizabeth in the east and Cape Town in the west. Most Garden Route vacations include this broader journey, spending time in Addo Elephant National Park, whale watching in Hermanus and exploring the Winelands northeast of Cape Town.

There’s so much to do along the Garden Route that it’s best to allow two weeks. Getting the most from this beautiful route is not about racking up the miles, after all, but about stopping frequently and for a few nights to explore. Just like the fine wines produced here, you shouldn’t gulp down the Garden Route in one go; breathe it in, swirl it around and sip it slowly.

Addo Elephant National Park is just a stone’s throw from Port Elizabeth. It’s home to around 600 elephants, and also black rhinos, leopards, lions, buffalos, hyenas, zebras and various antelopes. Smaller inhabitants include meerkats and lots of dung beetles, which can be seen throughout the park rolling little balls of dung by the side of the road. The park stretches all the way to the coast, offering protection to penguins, seals and other marine birdlife, and includes the largest and best preserved coastal dunefield in the southern hemisphere.

Head inland and over a pass and the lush landscape of the Garden Route becomes drastically different as you reach the Little Karoo, a much dryer and hotter region. Here, you’ll find Oudtshoorn, which became famous thanks to the trade in ostrich feathers and is still, today, the ostrich capital of the world. Visit an ostrich farm to get close to these big birds and head underground in nearby Cango Caves, an extensive network of caverns with impressive stalactites and stalagmites, millions of years old.

The wine industry of the Western Cape dates back to the 17th century and its makers today produce some of the best wines in the world. Stellenbosch is at the heart of the region and its vineyards are often surrounded by spectacular gardens and farmland, so come for the views as well as the tastings – you can even stay overnight at some wine estates. Explore Stellenbosch town itself, one of South Africa’s oldest colonial settlements, made up of tree lined streets and whitewashed, Cape Dutch architecture. Franschhoek is another food and wine heartland, which you can explore using a hop-on, hop-off tram.