Surrounds


The Garden Route has something to offer everyone, from the quiet and solitude of bird-watching to the most extreme adrenalin-pumping adventure sports; the assortment of activities available makes it easy to understand why people repeatedly return to experience the Garden Route’s magic.  A list of some things to see and do in our enchanting Garden follows, some near, some slightly further afield, but if you’d rather watch a short video clip showcasing the beauty of our natural surrounds, see this:

 

Sedgefield Slowtown Promo Vid from gtG FilmStudio on Vimeo.

 

Things to do:
Earth – getting close to nature:
  • Hiking and Walking Trails
  • Abseiling
  • Horse and Pony Riding
  • Quad Biking
  • Cycling
  • Mountain Biking
  • Knysna Forest Tours
  • Guided Game Drives and Safaris

 

Air – free as a bird:
  • Paragliding
  • Parasailing
  • Micro-Light Flights
  • Air Flips
  • Bungee Jumping

 

Water – cleansing, refreshing, relaxing and invigorating:
  • Surfing
  • Canoeing / Kayaking / Sea Kayaking
  • Sailing
  • Swimming – beaches and lakes
  • Whale and Dolphin Watching – prime land-based spots from July to October
  • Scuba Diving
  • Snorkelling
  • Deep Sea Safaris
  • Angling
  • Deep Sea Game Fishing
  • Fly Fishing
  • Cage Diving
  • Boat Cruises
  • Water Skiing
  • Jet Skiing
  • Power Boating
  • Kite Surfing

 

Fire – passionate pastimes:
  • Golfing
  • Bird watching
  • Health Hydros and Spas
  • 4×4 tracks
  • Eco-Adventures
  • Wine tasting

 

Things to see:
  • Sedgefield –South Africa’s first “Slow Town”!
  • Scenic routes and drives, including, The Seven Passes road between George and Knysna, The Outeniqua Pass and Montagu Pass between George and Oudtshoorn, The Old Cape Road, R339, Prince Alfred’s Pass, Harkerville to Kranshoek, Plettenberg Bay and the R102  Grootrivier Pass, Nature’s Valley which is slightly further afield but well worth it for the sightings of ancient yellowwood trees;
  • Dolphin point viewpoint for spectacular views across Wilderness;
  • Knysna’s indigenous forests;
  • George Botanical Gardens;
  • Woodville’s 800 yr old big yellow wood tree;
  • Parks, Nature Reserves and Game Farms including Wilderness National Park, Goukamma Nature Reserve, Featherbed Nature Reserve, Outeniqua Nature Reserve, Botlierskop Game Farm, Ballots Bay Nature Reserve, Robberg Nature Reserve, Keurbooms Nature Reserve and Tsitsikamma National Park;
  • Historical sites and museums such as George Museum, the Outeniqua Train museum, Millwood Goldfield, Bartolomeu Dias Museum (Mossel Bay), Ebb and Flow cave near Wilderness, Portland Manor Estate and Ship wrecks (Paquila and Athena);
  • Birds of Eden;
  • Monkeyland;
  • Knysna Elephant Park;
  • Cango Wildlife Ranch (www.cango.co.za) – endangered species breeding facility as well as the oldest and biggest cheetah contact centre worldwide; gives you a rare opportunity to interact with hand-reared cheetahs;
  • Oudtshoorn and the Klein Karoo with its Cango Caves, ostrich farms and budding wine and dried fruit industry;
  • Knysna – voted South Africa’s “favourite town of the year” for two consecutive years – with its eclectic mix of restaurants, pubs, cinemas and shops.  Also renowned for its lagoon cruises taking in the world famous ‘Heads’;
  • Local Arts and Crafts.