The best way to spend and enjoy your time on the world-famous Garden Route, writes Marley Kimelman who designed this 5-day trip.
I have been in Cape Town for six whole months and by far the best weekend I had was on the Garden Route. I felt the need to share my experience because of how difficult it was for me to find advice on what to do on this famous route. Some companies charged a fortune to bus you here and there, while others gave a nondescript outline of a possible trip. Neither provided very much help to me.
I know everyone doesn’t want the same vacation, and not everyone is traveling with 9 other 20 somethings, but I hope this guide can help you plan your trip along the Garden Route.
Day 1: Wine Day
We decided to roll out of Cape Town in our two rental cars around noon, all of us figuring out how to wiggle out of our internships a little early. Our first stop was Franschhoek, a quant wine village just past Stellenbosch. After some traffic and questionable driving decisions we made it in just less than two hours. We checked into our hostel, Franschhoek Travelers Lodge, and immediately headed out for the famous wine tram. (See photo above) Just a five-minute walk and a cheap ticket later we were bussing through some of the most beautiful landscapes I had ever seen. The route offers around a dozen farms to choose from, but since we arrived so late we had to stick to only two. Which trust me, was plenty and they are all fantastic.
After sipping wine for a few hours at two of the most beautiful wine estates I had ever been to, and for no extra-charge after buying my tram ticket, we were more than ready to call it an afternoon and munch on some fancy food back in the village centre. You really can’t go wrong with any of the restaurant options. But, an Italian restaurant, Allora, blew us away with perfectly timed pizza and seafood.
Day 2: Animal Day
We were up criminally early to start our drive to Mossel Bay. Even though it was still dark, the drive between Franschhoek and Mossel Bay was incredible. Mountains and grassy plains as far as the eye could see, with a few wind turbines that made my day of course.
Our first stop on animal day was the Zorgfontein Cat Walk. And by cat they mean lion. Walking with lions is certainly not something that I get to do on a daily basis in New York City. This was the activity that most of us were looking forward to the most. But after all was said and done, it may have been the most forgettable. Don’t get me wrong, being just meters away from a killer lion was an adrenaline rush, and pretty unique. But watching such a powerful and wild creature get pushed around by a few men with sticks was sad. It was all about getting a few good pictures. If you truly want a memorable experience with animals, this is not the way to do it.
On a lighter note, Botlierskop Game Reserve made up for our morning mishap. After getting lost on a long, dirt road, we made it to the beautiful Big 5 Park. We were lucky to get Cornelius as our guide, as he had a great sense of humor and was full of interesting facts about all the animals we saw. The landscape itself was amazing, and the animals seemed comfortable and at home in their environment. I was most excited when we got up close to a giraffe, my favorite animal. Botlierskop also offers elephant rides, which unfortunately we couldn’t find time for.
Maybe the coolest thing about animal day wasn’t an animal at all. After checking into our hostel in Mossel Bay, which was an old restored passenger train on the beach called Santos Express Train Lodge, we ventured into town and ended up back on the beach at a place called Kaai 4 Braai. If you end up in Mossel Bay during your garden route excursion, and you don’t go to Kaai 4 Braai you are truly missing out. We got an authentic, home cooked braai with our feet in the sand and a locally brewed beer in our hands. (Sorry for the cheesy rhyme). The night ended with the 10 of us gathered around the fire pit listening to the owner play us some guitar and sing. The bottom line is that I can’t recommend this place enough.
Day 3: Adventure Day
Adventure day took place in Tsitsikamma National Park. Easily one of the most stunning places I have ever been. Just a few hour drive from Mossel Bay, it was a huge change in scenery. Massive waves crashed onto the rocky shore and lush greenery sprung out of the steep cliffs. It was as if we had stumbled upon the amazon rainforest.
We had heard great things about the Touws River that ran in the park, so we decided to give kayaking a shot. The company we went with was called Kayak and Lilo. They provided us with everything we needed: an awesome kayak experience down the surprisingly calm river, a raft to paddle through the rapids, and some cool spots to cliff jump. All in a river gorge that had cut 100 feet through the rock on either side. It wasn’t difficult to pause from having a blast to take in the ridicules surroundings. After all this was arguably the best activity we did on the route.
We ended day 3 in Jeffrey’s Bay at an Airbnb we had found right on the beach.
Day 4: Beach Day
Next up was Jeffrey’s Bay. We decided to set up shop there for two nights so we could sleep in and enjoy the vacation a little bit. Since our trip was in the dead of winter, J-Bay was essentially a ghost town. Besides a surfing competition the town was empty, but that was ok for us. The guys rented surf-boards from the billabong store on the main road for criminally cheap, and hit the waves. While the girls walked around town and ran off some of the partying we had done the few nights before. J-Bay has some really cool restaurants and bars and would most likely be the place to be in the summer months. The beach is beautiful and the waves are straight out of a surf documentary.
At night we took advantage of our balcony and braai and cooked an amazing meal outside. It was really nice to kick back and get ready for our dive back to Cape Town in a quiet town where we could enjoy each other’s company, and the great food of course.
Day 5: Bolivia Day
Now I cant explain why we decided to name our final day after a tiny South American country, but we could have just as easily named it Elephant Day. We were off to Knysna Elephant Park. For just R180 our group of 9 was able to feed, and interact with the elephants for all long as we wanted. It was the best deal I came across in South Africa.
The elephants were treated so well and were free to roam and graze as they pleased. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and friendly. He answered all of our questions and more, and seemed totally at home interacting with the elephants. He knew each by name and they all seemed comfortable around him. Overall this was my favorite experience of the weekend and I would go back in a heartbeat.
Overall my five days on the Garden Route were some of the best days of my entire trip to South Africa. We certainly didn’t have a perfect vacation but it was pretty close to it.
I hope my personal story could provide for a little entertainment as well as some advice on how to go about planning your garden route trip. Enjoy!
Marley via Cape Town Green Map
