The towns generally accepted to be part of the Garden Route are Mossel Bay, George, Wilderness, Sedgefield, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay and Stormsriver. Stilbaai and Albertinia have snuck in on the West and Humansdorp and even Port Elizabeth are muscling in from the east. Inland, the Little Karoo and Route 62, which have no pretensions to being the Garden Route, are often treated as the same destination, as it's pretty easy zigzag between them by driving the many scenic passes over the Outeniqua Mountains. Initially the Garden Route was seen as very much a beach and/or family holiday destination, which it is, but there is also so much to do.

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There's great hiking, with rambles ranging from an hour to a few days covering rocky coasts, deep forests, pretty fynbos and long sandy beaches. The diving is good, as is the surfing, and there are some fun sea kayaking and flat water paddling trips. Some of the country's best mountain bike trails snake through the forests, and there are horse trails for every taste and level of ability. Tandem skydiving, paragliding, and a range of scenic flights all offer different birds eye views.

The Garden Route offers some of the best boat based whale watching in the world, flower lovers and birders will also have a field day traipsing off through the forest or the fynbos, and there are numerous national parks and nature reserves. Steam buffs will love the narrow gauge Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe. For the more culturally inclined, there are township tours, museums, lovely old buildings, funky craft shops, markets, art galleries and loads of live music venues. And, of course, a flotilla of great restaurants - many of which specialise in seafood - in each town. The Garden Route is a golfer's dream destination - you could play a different course every day for a week and still have a few left over.

Of course, this is not all good news as golf courses use an exorbitant amount of water and take up vast amounts of space but, as long as the golf-estate-building spree fizzles out soon, there should be sufficient space remaining between the fairways for a bit of forest, perhaps some shops and even a house or two. But that's not your problem, is it? If you fancy a round in paradise, get in now before it closes down. And if golf is too slow for you - there are more international standard polo fields in Plett alone than there are in the rest of the country put together. You could spend anything from a weekend to a month at a tailor-made polo clinic.

But what the Garden Route is most suitable for is relaxation - and even that's been somewhat institutionalised with almost every second hotel housing a wellness centre or spa. Not that that's a problem, mind. After a hard day on the beach you'll probably need a chocolate mud bath, colour therapy or hot stone massage.

But – really – George has one major attraction. Golf, golf, golf and golf. OK – that’s four. And that’s less than the number of golf courses in this golf-mad little city. (It’s a city not a town, because it has a cathedral, which you may like to visit, as it’s quite pretty.) But forget the cathedral. George is about golf.

The Eastern Head is quite developed with houses, guest houses, a dive shop and a restaurant in the most spectacular position. The Western Head, which is reached by scenic boat trip or a short paddle, is a private nature reserve with less physical infrastructure but loads of tourist activities. Tractor tours, abseiling and quad bike tours are all on offer, and there is a restaurant with a view to rival the one on the Eastern Head.

There is excellent diving in Knysna, both in the lagoon and outside in the open sea. One of the more interesting dives, a wreck right in the channel in The Heads, is only to be explored at slack tide, and then by relatively strong divers.

The N2 runs through the town in a freakishly narrow two-lane road that, at peak holiday times, creates traffic jams of note. Other than that, though, Knysna is mega-laid back.
It’s surrounded by wonderful indigenous forests with historical gold mines to explore, wonderful hikes and some of the most fabulous mountain biking in the world. No exaggeration. The ubiquitous Knysna loerie is a beautiful green and red bird that hides out in the forest, occasionally showing its scarlet underwings as it takes flight. Even more elusive and beautiful is the iconic Narina trogon, which is spotted relatively often.

There are also some lovely old buildings and a fabulous museum, which focuses mainly on the 15th Century Portuguese exploration of South Africa. There is a full size replica of the boat in which Bartholomeu Dias sailed to the Cape. And it’s not just a model – it was sailed from Portugal in 1988.

A tree in the grounds of the museum is the site of South Africa’s first “post office”. In the 15th Century homesick sailors left some letters in an old boot under the tree in the hope that they’d be found and taken back to Portugal. They were!

Mossel Bay has some fantastic activities on offer. You can ride a horse along the beach, the diving is good and the surfing is spectacular.
There is boat-based whale and dolphin watching and a shark cage diving operation that has one major advantage over the better known ones in Gansbaai in that it has exclusivity in the bay. It’s still a rather controversial operation, though.

The Gouritz River Bridge, where you can do a bungy jump or a bridge swing is close to the town.

Ostrich feathers have moved in and out of fashion a few times over the last couple of centuries but, at their heyday, they were worth more than their weight in gold and they funded the building of some magnificent mansions, which were dubbed “feather palaces” by the envious neighbours. Le Roux’s Townhouse, which is an annex of the CP Nel Museum, is an excellent example of this early form of conspicuous consumption.

There are also a number of farms where you could watch an ostrich display, learn all about these amazing birds and go wild buying ostrich feather and leather products. The leather has almost overtaken the feathers as a must-have fashion accessory. Distinctively knobbed (how many leathers are plucked?) and very hard-wearing, it’s used to make anything from key rings to full length coats, car upholstery and even saddles. (OK – so far, one rather weird Cape Town polo player has decided that a knobbly ostrich leather saddle is a good idea. But, who knows, it could take off.)

You could, if you were totally heartless, also ride an ostrich. Sure – they weigh 150 kg and are very strong but – and this is a big but – they have really tiny little ankles so many of the birds that are ridden are permanently injured. Which is not really a problem, as they’re destined to be turned into biltong and handbags, anyhow, but it’s worth thinking about.

Speaking of handbags, there’s a crocodile ranch just outside the town, and also a “wildlife ranch”, where you can dive with crocodiles from the safety of a cage, see a range of predators, including lions, tigers and jaguars, and you could even – for a price – “adopt” a baby cheetah. While we’re on the animal thing – there’s a bunny farm, where you can pet the angora rabbits and buy lovely soft garments from angora wool, and even a lovely, child-friendly restaurant where you can ride a camel. Camels, fortunately, are renowned for their sturdy ankles.

One of the best ways to see Oudtshoorn and its surrounds – if you’re relatively energetic – is to do a semi-escorted cycling trip on the Swartberg Pass. You (along with the bikes) get driven to the top of the pass 50km from town, from where you make your own way back. The first 10km is a steep, twisting, turning, incredibly scenic unpaved mountain pass – but all downhill. From there the next 10km is a relatively steep downhill on tar, and the last 30km is mostly downhill or flat.
En route back to town, you can stop to visit the Cango Caves, the Wildlife Ranch, an ostrich farm, and even stop to ride a camel. A short detour (with some uphills) could take you to a lovely waterfall. It’s a full day ride but – here’s the best part – if you decide you’ve had enough cycling, you can phone to be picked up and only pay a small “rescue fee”.

There are some great restaurants and a smattering of lovely guest houses. The Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (Little Karoo National Arts Festival), which is a whole load of fun, is held in April. 

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But there’s more to Plett than glitz and glamour.

There are some awesome hikes close to the town and loads of great day walks. You can do a tandem skydive, fly in a glider or just do a scenic whale and dolphin watching flight.

When the 15th Century Portuguese explorers first saw the place we now call Plett, they dubbed it Bahia Formosa – the beautiful bay – and it’s apt. The spectacular Robberg Peninsula, which defines the western edge of the bay, is a nature reserve where you can do walks ranging from a half hour to a day, look at seals, whales and dolphins from the cliff and visit a stone age cave with an informative site museum.
 

©  South African Tourism	©  South African Tourism

The Keurbooms and Bitou Rivers meet up near the national road to the east of the town and join up to form the beautiful Keurbooms Lagoon. There is great paddling on both rivers, particularly the bigger Keurbooms, which has a lovely overnight hut, accessible only by canoe, about 7km upstream.

Plett is absolutely stuffed with lovely guest houses, great restaurants, good hotels and wonderful little coffee shops. The many creative locals that have chosen to make their home in this little paradise create a constant supply of innovative crafts, foods and clothing that supply the numerous retail therapy venues.

Every place has its down side, though, and Plett’s is its popularity with school leavers. At the end of November, or beginning of December, they descend on the town in full breeding plumage, usually in Daddy’s second or third BMW, and make their presence known. But if you steer clear of the pubs and clubs you should manage to avoid them – and they only get to the beaches in late afternoon, immediately upon waking.