Day 8: Tour the Garden Route in South Africa: Mossel Bay, Wilderness, Knysna - The Heads and Plettenberg Bay
We continue in the Garden Route in South Africa, one of the most interesting and famous routes in the country, in which today we will make a section that will take us to know some of its most famous locations.
After sleeping as children tonight, when it is 7:30 in the morning we have a quick breakfast at the Malagas Hotel, our accommodation in Malgas tonight for when it is 8, leave in the direction of Mossel Bay, the first point of the Today's Garden Route, which is 165 kilometers and approximately two hours away.
As a curiosity, comment that to follow the route that we have programmed, we have to cross a river and for this, we have to take a manual ferry, which is nothing more than a wooden platform on the river, in which two people are pulling of some cables, making with its force that the platform is sliding and moving from one side to another, so we pay R56 and we point another point in our list of curious transports.
Tour the Garden Route in South Africa
Considered by many to be one of the most incredible routes in the country, the Garden Route or Garden Route is a road, in this case the N2, which technically starts at Mossel Bay and runs to the Tistsikamma National Park.
Along these kilometers, you can enjoy incredible white sand dunes, endless beaches, bays where you can even see whales between June and November and forests of impressive trees that remain from the primary forest that existed between the areas of Knysna and Wilderness.
Although as we said before, the Garden Route of South Africa begins in Mossel Bay, for many travelers it extends to the area of whale watching in Hermanus, in addition to Cape Agujas and the Natural Reserve of Hoop, both places to see in the Essential Garden Route, which we recommend not to get lost in South Africa for free.
- Cape Agulhas: Known as the southernmost point in Africa, contrary to what is believed of Cape Good Hope, on the Cape Peninsula, this is the place where the warm stream of Agulhas and the cold of Benguela meet.
- De Hoop: This impressive nature reserve is one of the most essential places to see on the Garden Route. With different trails, among which the 5-day Whale Trail stands out, if you only have one day or a few hours, we advise you to opt for the Coastal Path or Koppie Allen, which will take you to one of the most fascinating landscapes in South Africa where The protagonists are the white sand dunes, the coast and the whales, which come to this area of the country between June and November.
- Mossel Bay: In the west of the Garden Rute in South Africa is Mossel Bay, a town well known in the country for being a summer destination, to which we have to confess, we do not find much charm, although it is a stop Perfect to stretch your legs and drink something in front of the sea.
- Wilderness: With a famous 18-kilometer beach, this town without too much interest, is another perfect place to stop to eat and enjoy the incredible views of the surrounding landscapes.
- Knysna - The Heads: Known for being one of the most famous cities on the Garden Route in South Africa, Knysna is the perfect stop to learn a little more about the culture of this area of the country as well as enjoying stunning landscapes.
- Plettenberg Bay: Very popular and popular with locals, Pletterberg Bay is a small town with Lookout Beach, more than 10 kilometers long, and Keurbooms Beach, a virgin beach.
- Tsitsikamma: According to our experience, the Tsitsikamma Nature Reserve is one of the essentials on the Garden Route, especially its famous path of the suspension bridges.
Garden Route in South Africa
Although many travelers spend 2-3 days touring the Garden Route in South Africa, we taking into account our experience and counting that we include the section from Hermanus to Tsitsikamma on the way, we would dedicate 4 full days, distributed as follows:
- Hermanus (1 day)
- Cape Needles - De Hoop (1 day)
- Mossel Bay, Wilderness, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay (1 day)
- Tsitsikamma (1 day)
Cape Needles
We also want to highlight that of all the places to see in the Garden Route that we have mentioned, for us, the ones that involve natural surroundings are especially remarkable.
Against, the locations that are highlighted in the route and in this case we detail in this post, for us they have not had special interest, although they are always a good stop to take a walk through its most central area and thus also know a little Closer culture.
We leave you a map with the points to go on the Garden Route in South Africa, which we talked about before so you can get an idea of the location.
The first part of the Garden Route route today, from Malgas to Mossel Bay we do it partly by unpaved road and part by the N2 arriving at Mossel Bay when it is 10:30 in the morning going directly to the parking lot that is right in the area of the lighthouse, where there are a couple of viewpoints, which will be our first stop today, which has also been incredibly sunny.
Mossel Bay on the Garden Route in South Africa
Mossel bay
In the western part of one of the most beautiful bays in South Africa, we find Mossel Bay, a town that is divided into two zones, the oldest located on a hill and the newest, Point Village, which is the most interesting, in the area from the lighthouse and the coast, where you can enjoy an interesting landscape for a stop and several natural pools.
Natural pools in Mossel Bay on the Garden Route in South Africa
As we mentioned earlier, Mossel Bay lacks charm, at least for us, outside the area of the lighthouse and natural pools and we would only recommend a stop here to stretch your legs and have a drink, as we do in one of the nearby restaurants to the beach, where we have coffee with ice and a beer for R84.
Mossel bay
It's 12 in the morning when we continue the journey along the Garden Route in South Africa now heading to Wilderness 40 kilometers from Mossel Bay, a town known for its incredible 18 km long beach, where before arriving, we stopped at its famous dolphin viewpoint When it is 1 noon, where we enjoy a few minutes of walking through the area with incredible views of the beach, although without much luck since we do not see any of the dolphins they say, they are usually seen from this viewpoint.
Wilderness Beach Lookout
More practical information to prepare your trip to South Africa
- 10 essential places to see in South Africa
- The best tips for traveling to South Africa
Wilderness Beach
Known for being one of the most incredible beaches on the Garden Route, Wilderness Beach is probably not the best option for bathing since another of its characteristics, in addition to its beauty and length, are the strong waves and currents, something that It makes it one of the most dangerous beaches in the area.
Wilderness Beach
After the experience in Mossel Bay and knowing that the town does not have much to offer, we decided to use this place as a point to eat, stopping at Zuccini Restaurant 11 kilometers from the town and 30 kilometers from Knysna, which will be our next stop at the Garden Route
Located in an organic town, with a very pleasant atmosphere, this restaurant is one of the most recommended in the area and a very nice stop if you pass by here and it fits you at lunch or dinner. We ordered a vegetarian sandwich, large water burger and two espresso for R280 which are great.
Zuccini Restaurant
It is 2:30 in the afternoon when we continue the journey of the trip to South Africa in 25 days making way to Knysna, 30 kilometers from here, where we arrive when it is practically 3:30 in the afternoon, taking advantage of the town to stop at a gas station and fill the tank by R600 and thus remain calm the rest of the Garden Route that we still have to go.
Knysna
Knysna, one of the stops on the Garden Route in South Africa
Located next to a natural lake, Knysna is one of the places on the Garden Route most appreciated by South Africans, both for those who choose it as a holiday destination and for artists who have made it their inspiration.
If you have decided to stop by and make a stop, we recommend focusing on the Main Street area, its main street and Gray Street and Long Street, where most shops are concentrated, and then approaching you to the natural lake area, from where you have one of the most interesting views of the town.
Knysna
After almost an hour knowing Knysna, in the Garden Route, we have to confess it is not a place that we are especially passionate about, although it is a perfect stop for a walk, as we discussed with Mossel ay, we approached The Heads to 8 kilometers from the town, which is the point where the lake meets the ocean, creating one of the most dangerous sea passages in the world that we even read, the insurers do not accept responsibilities of any ship that passes through these waters
The Heads at Knysna
If you want to get closer to this point, for us an essential for its meaning if you are in Kynsna, it is best to leave the car in the parking lot, you can leave about R15-R20 because you take care, and make the small path of less than 1 kilometers until you reach the viewpoint area, from which you can perfectly see the union of the lake with the Indian Ocean.
The Heads at Knysna
From here and when it is 5 p.m. we make our way to the accommodation in Plettenberg Bay, where we will sleep tonight at the Mandalay Guesthouse, with a great value, where we arrived at 5:30 p.m. after traveling 24 kilometers with which we end the day today touring some of the best known locations of the Garden Route, which we have to confess have not reached the expectations we had, so we consider that if we have fewer days to do this route, perhaps it would be best to try to make the maximum number of kilometers possible to advance as much as possible and stop at Tsitsikamma National Park, which is the place we will go tomorrow.
We leave you a map with the stops of today's route on the Garden Route in South Africa, which has taken us to cities like Mossel Bay, Wilderness, Knysna - The Heads and Plettenberg Bay.
Day 9: Nature's Valley - What to see in Tsitsikamma National Park
