what to do in the Garden Route Archives

THE BIG TREES OF THE GARDEN ROUTE

One of the attractions of the Garden Route is its forests and fern and with that automatically goes big trees that is hidden in the forest. All of them fall within park areas and is thus taken care by SANPARKS. I will start from the western side and travel in an easterly direction to reveal them to you. WOODVILLE This is an 800 year old tree that stands 31 m tall. Follow the Seven Passes road from Hoekwil leading towards the mountains and the signage will indicate where to turn left. The tree is just 80 m down the trail. There is a picnic spot with braai facilities and toilets at the start of the trail. Type: Outeniqua Yellowwood Entry fee: yes Permit: self-issue type Walking trail: +- 2 km (easy) with water crossing Coordinates: S33°56.8232 E022°38’42.1944 DALENE MATTHEE This one stands proudly next to the memorial of the famous… Read more >

THE QUEEN OF THE YELLOWWOODS

There are a lot of attractions and things to do in the Tsitsikamma region of the Garden Route that stretches more or less from Mossel Bay in the west to more or less Humansdorp in the east. Some of them is well known and others not. The most visited one is probably the swing bridge in the Tsitsikamma National Park, but today we are not stopping there. Instead, I am taking you to a big tree in the forest aptly named “Big Tree”. I left the home base a bit earlier to give myself time to stop in the heart of the Tsitsikamma. The big trees of our native forests are not as big as the massive Red Woods that you find in the United States, but they stand tall to reach the rays of sunlight. The Outeniqua Yellowwood tree is South Africa’s national tree which makes this particular big tree… Read more >

END OF THE LINE

Turn tables are interesting objects which not a lot of people know about or what its function is, unless you have a special interest in trains. I grew up around trains, but never knew that the picturesque town of Knysna had a turn table tugged away in its bowels. This is just another hidden gem of the Garden Route. So, what is a turn table all about? Or before we go there, why am I writing about a turn table of all things under the sun? Because I think it is worthwhile to write about it as it is not something often seen in South Africa. I discovered this one by accident in the beautiful town of Knysna, next to the waterfront at an almost forgotten spot next to a parking lot. On your next visit in Knysna head over to this GPS location to see it: S 34° 02.393… Read more >

WANDERING IN WILDERNESS

When you visit the beautiful village of Wilderness, that lies in the heart of the Garden Route, you will experience rivers, lakes, beaches and forest, all within easy reach of each other. With many accommodations to choose from this is a perfect base to explore from. You can spoil yourself with some good eateries, adventure activities (kloofing, abseiling, paragliding), excellent farmers markets and beach strolls. So, why NOT visit Wilderness? This is South Africa’s own lakes district. There are various bird hides along the lakes system that you can, well, hide in, to watch some bird life along the lakes. Find Gullilule and Malachite Bird hides for some splendid bird activity along the lakes. The chances are good that you will be the only person in the hide. By far one of the best kept secrets still in the Garden Route! Stop at Dolphin’s Point and enjoy the view both… Read more >

VLEESBAAI 4X4 DUNE ROUTE

We have been to the Vleesbaai 4×4 route many, many times in the past, but each and every time that we go it is something special as the dunes constantly shift and change its look with the seasons. It is time for sun, sea and sand and happy holidays again. Vleesbaai 4×4 route is the perfect destination for those windy and cloudy days when the weather does not want to play along for a beach visit. Early morning when you are first on the route you will encounter many fresh spoor – some very cat-like (I was thinking in the direction of a vaalbos kat), small antelope, mice and birds. As they say the early bird catches the worm or is it spoor in this case? The interesting thing about this route is that it changes according to the time of day that you visit. Early morning the sand… Read more >

FULL THROTTLE

Knysna was and is one of South Africa’s favourite holiday destinations and these days another different attraction is added to the scene where you can go full throttle. At first you will think this is all about bikes, but while browsing through the display you will notice there is much more than wheels to this living museum (if you want to call it that). You will notice the passion, the history and a story behind each bike on display. The Motorcycle Room is Colin Studen’s happy place. He takes old and new bikes which were heading for the dumpster, regardless make and model, and turn it into a memory (like the one of a kind model, Copper). It is his happy place and not only filled with his happy memories, but also happy memories of every boy, no matter the age, that visits the room. When we visited on hubby’s… Read more >

GO SLOW IN SLOWTOWN

Life can be fast – get up, go for a jog, a quick shower, drop off the kids, grab breakfast and coffee on your way to the office to start your day. This is not what Sedgefield is about. Take your time, because you are in a slow town. A town does not choose to be a slow town randomly; you need to meet certain criteria as set out by the Cittaslow movement in Italy, before you can adopt the name “slow town”. Sedgefield earned this name in 2010 and was the first town (and thus far the only town) in South Africa to be awarded with that title. South African now joins the list of slow towns of the world. These towns can be found in some unexpected countries like Japan and South Korea in the East to Denmark and Finland in the North and USA and Canada in… Read more >

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