After Kruger, I was worried we peaked too early, and leaving was quite bittersweet. Luckily, a road trip through the Garden Route was just what the doctor ordered to lift our spirits, as I don’t think there’s a more beautiful drive on the planet. This is a long post because there is an insane amount to see and do in this part of the country. Our itinerary and additional recommendations are below!

Jeffrey’s Bay

We went straight from Port Elizabeth to Jeffrey’s Bay so G would get some surfing in. Tip: we had a harder time than expected finding the beaches to surf on (bad preplanning), so know where you want to rent your board from and base it around that. We spent a few hours surfing and eating and taking in the scenery – beautiful beaches but we also drove by/through our first Township, which was quite shocking. We later spent an evening at Mzansi restaurant in the Langa Township in Cape Town, which was incredible.

Storms River

We spent our first night in Storms River. This little town was adorable and our hosts absolutely lovely. It felt like staying in our grandparent’s comforting home. It was green and beautiful, and I highly recommend booking there! If we go back, we’d spend all three of our nights along the Garden Route in Storms River – though it’s not for everyone. See where to stay along the Garden Route here.

Dinner (and breakfast) in Storms River

We went to De Oude Martha and loved it. The food was so good, the service excellent, and the venue gorgeous. Go back for their breakfast buffet – after our sad little grills in Kruger, this delicious food was much appreciated (and overindulged).

Activities in Tsitsikamma national park

The two best things we did in Storms River were ziplining and kayaking down the mouth of Storms river. Ziplining was fun, and not scary at all, even for me. If you’re looking for some serious adrenaline, instead go a bit further down Route 2 and hit up Face Adrenalin for one of the world’s highest jumps at Bloukrans Bridge. As that sounds like my personal hell, we skipped it, but everyone we spoke to who had done it said it was one of the highlights of their lives.

After ziplining we went kayaking and lilo-ing down Storms River mouth, which was gorgeous. It was fun, just a little challenging (swimming against the tide at points was not easy!) and there was cliff jumping! The water is full of tannans, but it doesn’t taste (or smell) nearly as good as wine. It looks dirty but we were assured it’s not, and I wouldn’t miss the jumps as they are just high enough to turn your stomach.

We didn’t do the hike to the waterfall as it was pouring rain and visibility was low, but if you’re up for it, it’s meant to be beautiful (though better in the wet season than dry).

Knysna

We spent the next two nights in Knysna. Storms River, Plettenburg Bay, and Knysna are all close enough together that you can easily get to each one no matter where you stay, so it’s not necessary to move each night if you don’t want to. Knysna is cute and mid-size (though the biggest of the three) and if you want to hop around the coast, is a great place to stay.

Dinner in Knysna

Go to The Waterfront, where many of the most recommended restaurants are clustered. We were there right at the end of March and a reservation wasn’t necessary at even the most popular places. This allowed us to wander around the pier and window shop restaurants. We had heard the best things about 34 Degrees South, which is a Knysna institution. It was delicious and lively – full when most other places were nearly empty. Knysna has great food – Drydock and Easthead Cafe, if you’re willing to drive a bit farther out, were also both highly recommended.

Plettenburg Bay

The next morning we woke up early and headed to Robberg Nature Reserve for one of the best hikes of my life. If you like hiking and beautiful landscapes, do not miss this one!

After the hike, swim, and ensuing sunburn, we went to Monkeyland for lunch – you don’t have to pay for entry if you’re only eating/accessing the restaurant, but the restaurant is inside the park and you can see quite a few monkeys just eating lunch.

From there we went to Elephant Sanctuary. This was recommended by a host as a rehabilitation centre and right next to our lunch place, but we didn’t do the right background research before going. It called itself a sanctuary but the elephants were too well trained to be wild and it felt more like a circus. When asked, they said they only trained with food and never violence, and the elephants were given to them by the governments from South Africa and nearby countries because they couldn’t survive in the wild. However they all seemed fine and though the goal was rehabilitation, no elephant has been released thus far. I write about this as a warning to others. Don’t be me, ALWAYS research thoroughly first. If you really want to see some elephants, Knysna Elephant Park has actually rehabbed and released elephants, though they’ve also had some abuse claims.

Wilderness

We set off the next morning for Wilderness. We were going to hike but it was cloudy with low visibility and I was suffering from one of the worst sunburns of my life – Malarone is no joke, and sunblock doesn’t help. All this to say, we ended up skipping the hike, but you can find a list of the best ones we researched here.

Mossel Bay

We stopped in Mossel Bay to see the Post Office Tree. Back in 1501, a Portuguese explorer took shelter in Mossel Bay after a bad storm. He wanted to get a letter to another explorer, warning him, so left a boot nailed to a tree with a letter inside. It managed to reach the correct man (!) and for decades was used as the “post office” in Mossel Bay for explorers. Now there is a little monument there with a slot to put mail into, so I sent myself a postcard. I do this everywhere I go as a type of journal entry about the trip, and with the local stamp and such. I like sending them from cool locations, and this one and the one I sent from the top of Table Mountain are of the few that actually made it to England from South Africa (I think the only two, actually).

From Mossel Bay we drove to Franschhoek, and thus ended our time on the Garden Route. I was getting used to feeling both sad and excited that one part of the trip was ending while another was beginning, but the incredible drive to Franschhoek softened the blow. It was astounding!

MORE GARDEN ROUTE ACTIVITIES

There is so much more you can do on the Garden Route. We only had a few days, and would strongly recommend a longer trip if you can. Some of the most popular things we missed out on were:

• Visiting Safari Ostrich Farm in Oudtshoorn. There are a few, but everyone we met along the way said this was the one to visit.
• Addo Elephant Park. This was our back up in case we didn’t see any elephants in Kruger. We were innocent babies who didn’t realise how incredible (and elephant rich) Kruger would be.
• Whale Watching in Hermanus – this is something we would have done without hesitation at a different time of year, but it wasn’t the right season so we gave it a pass. If you’re there between June and November, don’t miss it!
• Birds of Eden – right next to Monkeyland and really highly rated among bird lovers.
• Shark Diving – we left this up to the last minute, and then decided not to go. Mostly because I truly don’t think I’d ever get in the ocean sans protective cage again. If you’re less of a baby, this is something loads of people put at the top of their list.
• Featherbed Ferry to Knysna Heads – this one we missed only because we didn’t know about it. One the list for next time for sure!
• Kayaking down the river in Wilderness National Park. Much like the hike, we had to skip this due to sunburn and bad weather. Though we had kayaked in Tsitsikamma, it was through and tour and we were sad to miss the independence of doing one on our own. You can rent Kayaks at Eden Adventures in the park.

Obviously, there is a HUGE number of things to do on the Garden Route. The natural beauty, wildlife, food, and activities means there’s something for everyone, and to be honest, just writing this post has me desperate to go back and do more. Until then, I’ll live vicariously through this blog post!