After 4 days in Cape Town and 2 days in the winery area of Franschhoek, it was time to discover the famous Garden Route.
Our initial idea was to drive through the Franschhoek Pass and arrive in Hermanus but, since it was closed because of a brake, we came back via Stellenbosch down through the coast.
We decided to take a longer road (R44) via Gordons Bay to enjoy the beautiful views of the Atlantic Ocean.
On the road we also stopped for a cup of coffee in Kleinmond (small mouth in Afrikaans), which is a little coastal town popular for holidays. We had been told that, if you’re lucky, you can spot a few whales (June to November) from the coastline but that didn’t happen for us. Coffee was good though.
Half an hour later, we finally arrived in Hermanus, which is also quite famous for being a whale-watching site. We visited the town and had something to eat while trying to spot the whales. Again, we couldn’t find any, so we decided to go to Struisbaai where we booked a night in the beautiful Oceanview Guesthouse.
Be mindful: if you decide to go to Struisbaai via the coastal road, after Pearly Beach town, the street becomes gravel and you need to drive much slower. Our suggestion is to follow R43 to avoid it.
Following our host advice, we went to the Seagull Pub & Grill for dinner in L’Algulhas. The restaurant had organized a Mexican night and we enjoyed a fixed menu of 8 giant tapas for R230 per person. The food tasted really good but portions were so big that I couldn’t finish the whole menu. On the contrary, Os managed to finish everything somehow!
During the evening, they even organized a Mexican quiz with a shot of tequila for those who answered correctly 15 questions about Mexico. Needless to say, we came short, but we still got 14 out of 15 questions right. That was a fun way to spend the evening.
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After a good night of sleep, we drove to the southernmost point of Africa, where the Atlantic and Indian Ocean meet.
There, we took many pictures and a had a relaxing walk on the beach and then we headed to De Hoop Nature Reserve. The park is lovely: it has wonderful wildlife surrounded by a beautiful landscape.
As expected, we saw plenty of animals such as springboks, ostriches, baboons, snakes, and birds. However, the real beauty presented itself when we arrived at the beach: the landscape was simply breathtaking. Big white-sand dunes with the blue ocean as a background. Cherry on the cake, we finally spotted some whales not too far from us (including a few babies).
The pictures don’t do justice but it was a delightful moment for both of us since it was the first time we saw these creatures!
When the whales left, we decided to leave and drove to Malgas, where we stopped at Grunters for a drink. This bar/restaurant is in the middle of nowhere but it has its own charm thanks the sand floors and the big barbecue in the middle of the room.
It certainly seemed to be a good place to have a good fun night! That being said, since we got there at 3pm, we were the only ones there. Luckily, the owner was very social and we spent some time chatting with him. Turns out that he was from Namibia (our next destination) and gave us a couple of tips. He also suggested to go to another local pub not too far from there.
We followed his advice and 5 minutes later we arrived at The Boathouse: a simple bar with lots of locals and a lovely view on the Bree river. We liked the place so we decided to order a pizza margherita and a couple of cold beers.
Once again, it was time to go… direction: Mossel Bay. On our way there, to cross the Bree river with the car, we took the last man-powered ferry in South Africa. It was the second first of the day but – I have to say – those guys have quite a hard job!
When we arrived at Mosselbay a couple of hour later, we went straight to the Mosselbay Backpackers hostel (where we booked a room in advance). If you like hostels, this one is definitely worth visiting: it has a swimming pool, a bar, a BBQ that you can use to cook and a fun area where you can play board games, billiard and many other games.
Being tired from the long day, we decided to have a few drinks with a couple of other fellow travellers before going out for dinner.
At dinner time, we decided to try the nearby Route 57. This place is owned by Louis Oosthuizen (international golfer) and we appreciated it a lot for both the food and the amazing wine. Os had a trio of venison and I had a lamb Cape Malay curry, both typical dishes of the region.
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The next morning, we visited Mossel Bay. Personally, I didn’t find anything too interesting to see, except the lighthouse from where you can have a nice view of the town and the coast. Therefore, we decided quite quickly to head to the Congo Caves in Oudtshoorn.
We have visited many caves in our trips around the world but this one was the biggest cave we have ever been into. Definitely a good way to spend a couple of hours.
There are two options: the heritage tour (1h) and the adventure tour (1.5h). We did the first and it was very interesting but the latter sounds even cooler!
Oudtshoorn is also known for its ostrich farms, so after the cave visit, we went to the Chandelier Ostrich Farm. They offer ostrich tours, accommodation and various activities. You can also feed the two giraffes: Shorty and Sheila. Cutest animals ever!
This is the only farm that still offers the option to ride an ostrich and we wanted to try… Unfortunately, the day was too hot for the animals, so we could only see them.
It was time to hit the road again and in 1h30 we arrived in Knysna. We visited the waterfront and finally stopped at the Drydock Food for some drinks.
The sunset and the Knysna’s Bay were amazing and – since we enjoyed the place so much – we decided to come back for dinner. Everything was perfect and we’d recommend a visit.
For our last night in South Africa we booked the Knysna Pearl View Guesthouse. As the name said, the view is truly A-MA-ZING! You need a car to arrive at the guesthouse as it is in The Heads area (10 min from city centre) but it’s definitely worth it.
Moreover, the owner of the place is very kind and welcoming. You can also use their telescope to look at the moon and stars at night, which we did after dinner and it was a perfect way to end the day 🙂
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For our last day in South Africa, we first enjoyed breakfast on the terrace of our guesthouse with the breath-taking view of the Knysna’s Bay. See for yourself!
After finishing preparing our backpacks, we headed back to Knysna to wash our car. While we’re not sure you have to do that if you have rented a car, it certainly reduces the likelihood of unwanted additional fees.
Finally, we headed to Wilderness where we drank a mango juice near the beach until it was almost time to reach the airport.
The last thing we had to do was to fill up the tank, which we thought we could do close to George airport. Turns out that there really is no gas station in the airport proximity (or it is very difficult to find) so we ended up wasting 30 mins only to go back to George town. Luckily, we had a lot of time.
George airport offers domestic flights and it is quite small but very efficient. The check-in opened 1h30 before the flight and a few minutes later we were already at the gate.
We took the SA8638 flight for Cape Town with South Africa Airlines and in 45 minutes we landed. We took our backpacks (that arrived straightaway) and we went again at the check-in counter for our flight to Windhoek with Air Namibia (SW708). We only had 2h between flights but it was largely enough. In fact, we also had time for a snack.
When planning, it is recommended to have at least 2h between flights Cape Town Airport (if you need to check-in your baggage again), as they are very efficient. However, if you are travelling via Johannesburg, allow for more time as we heard that they are not so organized and the whole thing might be slower.
After two hours flight, we finally landed in Namibia! More on this part of the trip HERE.