Cape Town & Garden Route

Having sent a lot of clients to South Africa and along the Garden route, I decided it was about time I paid a visit, so in March 19 we flew out to Cape Town and headed for the V&A Waterfront. We stayed in an apartment just 5 mins walk from the main tourist waterfront area, so no problem with finding anywhere to eat. We loved the relaxed safe vibe of the Waterfront and enjoyed browsing the Artisan Market and watching the seals swim into the harbour.

We got the Hop on Hop off bus for a trip around Camps Bay and Table Mountain, took the cable car to the top of the mountain and got some great views of the city. The following day we joined a small group and headed south to Cape Point. Some great views are to be had along the way, but unfortunately the weather was against us, and once we got to Cape Point we had horizontal rain and gales. Still enjoyable though. We headed back up the peninsular and stopped to see the penguins at Simons Beach and Kurfustenhof Botanical Gardens before returning to the city. We should have taken a trip to Robben Island the following morning but the winds were strong so the trip was cancelled, so we looked around the museum instead.

Time to pick up the hire car, we headed out to Franschhoek for a couple of nights. We had booked a wine tour early the next morning and by 9.30 we were sampling various wines, having had a brief history of Franschhoek and its origins first. Franschhoek is a delightful town with traditional Dutch influenced architecture and Huguenot history. It is surround by mountains set in a lush green valley, ideal for wine growing. Heading through the mountain pass through to the Karoo region, we saw some local monkeys. The mountain pass twists and turns giving way to some beautiful scenery and views. The roads are good and empty so easy to drive. I wanted to return to Karoo and see the Cango Caves at Oudtshoorn( see previous blog), as they are some of the best caves systems I’ve ever seen. We had an early morning start the following day as we went in search of meerkats as they woke at dawn. It was great watching it get light in the middle of the Karoo, not a sound to be heard, and then gradually you’d see a few meerkat heads popping up from their burrows checking it was safe to head off for the day.

We continued our journey east passing through George, and then onto Plettenburg Bay, stopping on route at the Knysna Elephant Sanctuary. I had been there before on a work trip (previous blog), but we spent a bit more time and interaction this time with the orphaned elephants, getting up close with our own guide. A good place for an hour or so to have a break on our journey. Shortly after we arrived at our next stop at Plettenburg Bay, with time to watch the sunset over the Bay.

Early next morning we headed to the Robberg Peninsular, which is a National Park next to Plettenburg Bay. Getting there early means you can park easily and then head off for a choice of walks. We picked the middle one which took us along the cliffs and about half way along you come to some sand dunes, where you can either continue on a more difficult walk to the end of the peninsular or cut across to the other side the peninsular across the dunes and slowly make your way back. I found if fairly strenuous but enjoyed the flora and fauna. It took about 3hrs in all I think, probably quicker if you are fitter. The car park was full and cars parked all along the road when we returned. Our final day we headed to Port Elizabeth Airport but stopped along the way at the Tsitsikamma National Park to walk the suspension bridge across Storms River, which was a very enjoyable break in our journey. Some people kayaked around the gorge below us.

A quick but enjoyable trip across the bottom of South Africa, full of varied activities and views. Hope to return one day!