Unparalled Beauty
THIS is one of South Africa's most beautiful areas, with a magnificent coastline, rivers, lakes, indigenous forests, towering mountains and a wonderful climate.
From the Tsitsikamma Forest in the East, to Mossel Bay almost 200 km West, the region will richly reward the traveler with a feast of visual beauty.
The lovely town of Knysna, built on a lagoon famous for its fishing, makes a perfect spot from which to explore the Garden Route. Besides its magnificent setting, the town has fine guest houses, restaurants and shopping areas.
Driving on the road from Knysna to Plettenberg Bay, one should stop and wander into the forests, especially around the enchanting Garden of Eden, with its 800 year old yellowood, stinkwood and blackwood trees.
There are mountain bike trails, ranging from the relatively easy to seriously difficult.
Plettenberg Bay also offers fine accommodation and restaurants, and some of the greatest stretches of pristine beach imaginable, with good bathing in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. There are boat tours to meet dolphins and whales, deep sea diving adventures and glider flights from Stanley Island which offers the visitor a quick, cheap bird's eye view of the stunning coastline.
The area between Knysna and George is a tapestry of freshwater lakes, streams and rivers, and the old gravel road which winds through this area is definitely worth exploring.
On the coast is the village of Wilderness, with its beautiful stretch of beach and lagoon, while nearby Victoria Bay is famous for some great surfing waves.
