The highly acclaimed Garden Route didn’t give us the warm welcome we hoped it would. A better time for a visit would be in November. Weather in September is variable and unstable.
Nevertheless the Garden Route is a beautiful, endless long coastline at the Indian Ocean that reaches to the half desert of the Small Karoo. It’s blessed with numerous pretty beaches with powdery white sand and a rough sea.
Of course, we didn’t make it to the Addo Elephant National Park. The time we just didn’t enough to drive that far. Afterwards with the uncomfy weather we had to deal with we were happy to only have spent two days. But now we have a good impression of why people are so in awe with this piece of land.
Wilderness
While searching for information of the Garden Route, you will see the beach of Wilderness at most pictures. We had our base in Wilderness from where we started our trips along the Garden Route.
It’s small town with a good Italian Restaurant and a good Tapas Bar. For beach vacay it’s the perfect place.
Our accommodation was a five minute drive from the famous Map of Africa.
Map of Africa
The name says it all. Not far from Wilderness beach you’ll find the amazing view point ‘Map of Africa’ – a river bend (Kaaimans River) in shape of the African continent. Really impressive and especially a great photo motive.
Sedgefield
Before we left Frankfurt we discovered pictures of the Sedgefield Cave but we didn’t know where it was located. So we were on our way and asked some locals. We found it but because of the strong drift there was too much sand accumulation in the cave.
For most people this might be a reason not to go there. Not for us. Despite the windy and cool day we could see an amazing sunset at a beautiful beach.
Knysna
You can only guess what’s going on here in summer. With nasty weather Knysna seems to be a little bit deserted. For oyster fans it’s still heaven on earth. You’re spoilt for choice with the many restaurants offering you all kinds of oysters. They’re popular in this region and a speciality of the region.
Knysna lies in a lagoon which is separated from the sea by the Knysna Heads. You can discover the Eastern Head via short hiking trails from the top and from sea level and enjoy the great views.
Furthermore Knysna has a waterfront. This one is very small compared to the one in Cape Town. But it looks cute and there is a variety of restaurants.
We would come back to the Garden Route any time. But next time we will order warmer temperatures and sunshine!