Garden Route, South Africa

33°54'51.8"S 19°09'04.5"E Capetown to Tsitsikamma, South Africa

We were gathered in Constantia, Capetown to celebrate a family wedding anniversary. The first few days we were caught up in celebrations, crowd pleasers and cork popping.

The following week we took our rented VW Polo and cruised up the Garden Route as far as Tsitsikamma National Park.

Here are some highlights…

Old Biscuit Mill

A favourite little find in Cape Town was the Old Biscuit Mill. A collective of local crafts and treasures, clothes, jewellery and food! Pick from the stalls of market food, take a seat on the shared banquet-style tables crafted from recycled doors and munch away.

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden

Set against the eastern slopes of Cape Town’s Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch is acclaimed as one of the great botanic gardens of the world.

To celebrate their recent centenary they have just cut the ribbon on a low-impact sculptural raised walkway… ‘The Centenary Tree Canopy Walkway’.

Inspired by a snake skeleton it’s been nicknamed ‘The Boomslang‘ (tree snake) the new curved steel and timber bridge takes visitors 130 meters from the forest floor through the trees and bursts out above the tree canopy, giving spectacular panoramic vistas of the surrounding mountains, garden and Cape Flats.

Table Mountain

You can climb it or you can cable car it. VIEWS!

Penguins at Bolders Bay

Adorable little characters.

Cape of Good Hope

The most south-western point of the african continent.

Chapman's Peak Drive

Chapmans Peak Drive is a mindblowing feat of engineering and a breathtaking drive around the coast.

The Vineyards

Our family 20th wedding anniversary was celebrated with a vow renewal ceremony, held in a small chapel in Constantia, where the most beautiful young women wooed us with ‘Ava Maria’. There wasn’t a dry eye in the chapel.

Afterwards we had a private dining room at Steenburg Vineyard.

… where we may have drunk wine.

You do not have to go far from the city to find the vineyards, popular wine regions such as Constantia, Stellenbosch and Paarl are all exploding with vineyards who know how to wine and dine.

After our stay in Constantia with family, we chose to stay in Franschhoek.

When you make it to Franschhoek, you are are going to need to start somewhere… may I very seriously recommend the Wine Tram.

This hop on, hop off railway line is now used for the sole purpose of delivering people to drink wine. Thats right, it’s as good as it sounds!

Our third wine tasting stop on the tram was Grand Provence.

We had our wine tasting and quite frankly I wasn’t ready to leave, the interior design and gardens created a vibe which I wanted to soak up, so as we were waiting to ‘hop’ we ventured further, saw the dining room, read the menu and promptly declared we were staying for lunch.

It was a dreamy decision, the risotto alone was one of the top plates I’ve ever had.

Another restaurant experience in Franschhoek worth writing home about was Le Quartier Francais.

This had been recommended to us but without enough time to book in advance, and it is necessary to book weeks in advance. We tried anyway, strolled in off the main street asking for a table that night, the gentleman shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, excused himself, returned and announced he would ‘make room for us’. That gorgeous gentleman split a table for 4 down the middle with a piece of sculpture and created 2 tables of 2.

We went all in, the 8 course experience with drink pairing! (The exchange rate is very favourable to the £ at the moment)

It was a food experience, the staff are incredible, charming and engaging. They employ young people from the townships, train them properly and then let them be themselves, each course is presented with a back story, each paired drink received the same treatment. Thoroughly recommend as a treat.

We stayed at Holden Manz, a Cape Dutch style modern country house and vineyard with a flair for art.

The owner has an art gallery on the high street and his passion prevails throughout the country house estate.

Hermanus

Hermanus, particularly Walker Bay, is the mating and breeding grounds of the Southern Right Whale during the winter and spring months (from June to November). Southern Right Whales migrate from the Antarctic around June to calve and mate. Calving takes place in August and September and the males arrive for mating in October when the whale population peaks, you are almost guaranteed of seeing whales in September, October and November.

Whale and dolphin watching without fail brings a tear to my eye, they are outstandingly magnificent creatures and it overwhelms me.

I am conscious about animal tourism and it’s eco impact, some are trying - the boats here have to keep a respectful distance - I’m sure we’d all agree we’ve got a long way to go on the conservation of Mother Nature.

We stayed at 138 Marine Beachfront Guesthouse, our room had a tub with a view over the ocean and lovely sunsets. We filled a bubble bath, poured a glass of bubbles and sat in the tub watching for whales passing by. We also were really pleasantly surprised by the great breakfast here, homemade passionfruit jam on warm homemade granary bread, yes please!

Knysna

We had our own treehouse at Phantom Forest Eco Lodge, a treehouse with a bath. What more could one want?

There is a plethora of outdoor activities here, we went with a Sunset Sailing cruise.

Plettenburg Bay

We stayed at Grand Africa, we didn’t get great weather which is a shame because the beach looks BEAUTIFUL. There’s loads of walks and wildlife and golden sand here but we took it as a sign to rest in our bath house.

Titsakamma National Park

Forming the top section of the Garden Route, Titsakamma is a hiking and water sports paradise with dramatic coastal scenery, reefs, rivers, lush forest and delicate Fynbos (indigenous plants).

Encompassing a marine reserve, deep gorges, promisingly named trails such as ‘Otter Trail’ and ‘Dolphin Trail’ and the high chance of whales breaching off the shore, it is easy to see why Tsitsikamma National Park is a worthy destination.

The boundary of the Tsitsikamma National Park, South Africa stretches 5km out to sea, protecting a wonderland of inter-tidal life, reef and deep-sea fish. Dolphins play and surf in the breakers. The Southern Right Whale visits these waters in season, coming inshore to breed.