Go whale watching in South Africa
Humpback whales are abundant in the Hermanus area, just a 90-minute drive from Cape Town. Here, you will have the opportunity to see humpback whales exhaling towering columns of water, and they are only a few dozen meters from the shore. Hermanus town often holds a whale watching festival every September - the time when the giant southern right whales pass through the area in large numbers. During this festival, there is even a person in charge of warning the crowd about the appearance of the whales by blowing on a kelp whistle. If you do not like the feeling of waiting tiredly on the shore, you can absolutely choose a hotel near the sea to watch the whales from the balcony.
Diving in the Serengeti Sea
Just a 40-minute drive along the Garden Route, you will find Gansbaai, known locally as the Serengeti of the Sea because of its rich seabed ecosystem, including the Big Five marine species: whales, dolphins, seals, penguins and sharks.
*Serengeti is a famous savanna ecosystem in Africa, stretching from northern Tanzania to southwestern Kenya in the range of 1 to 3 degrees south latitude and 34 to 36 degrees west longitude with an area of about 30,000 km².
See Ogle ostriches in Oudtshoorn
Although it takes four hours to get from Gansbaai to Oudtshoorn, the journey is well worth it, with plenty of beautiful scenery along the way, including the treacherous Tradouw Pass and the twisting Huisrivier Pass, which clings to the mountainside where leopards roam. While Cango Caves boasts an impressive prehistoric limestone formation of rock formations, stalagmites and stalactites, Oudtshoorn boasts the world’s largest ostrich population, with several farms offering car rides or hikes to see the giant birds.
Experience the feeling of Happiness on the water
Continue south and towards the coast and you will reach Knysna – a charming resort town right in the heart of the Garden Route. Here you will find a vast beryl-green lagoon spilling into the sea between two giant sandstone outcrops known as the Heads. Here you can choose from a range of activities, from hiking through the lush forest that acts as the lungs of the town to heading to the lagoon for fishing, kayaking, water skiing and swimming.
Go sightseeing in town
Robberg Nature Reserve
Just a half-hour drive east is Plettenberg Bay, home to the rocky Robberg Nature Reserve where you can spot seals, visit the sandy central beach or visit the Stone Age Nelson Caves. It’s also a great place to take a town tour, meet locals from the Qolweni community, visit the Liyakhula town kindergarten and learn about the town’s rich history along the way.
Tsala Treetop Lodge
In the evening, stay at Tsala Treetop Lodge just outside town – an elegant high-altitude resort decorated in an Afro-European style and hidden in ancient indigenous forest.
Relax in a green environment
Tsitsikamma, north of the Storms River, is known locally as the Garden Route. Tsitsikamma means “place of many waters,” and is home to long river valleys, igneous “oceans” and mist-shrouded forests clinging to lush mountains. Get your walking shoes on for a green walk, visit the Storms River and cross Bloukrans Bridge, the world’s highest bridge, for a bungee jump.
*Bungee jumping is an extreme sport in which a person climbs a high tower, ties a harness around his body and throws himself down to the ground (or water). When he is just a short distance from the contact surface, he will be pulled up. This adventurous experience has developed into an attractive tourist activity in many places around the world.
