Gap Year Experiences

Part II

Tuesday 16 September 2008

So, following on from Cape Town, I thought I would move up the famous garden route and along one of the most spectacular pieces of coastline in the world.

The Garden Route is a very well marketed part of the country, for very good reason though. The beauty of this part of the country lies not only in the coastline itself but also the great towns that are dotted along the route. The first tip of the day is rather than taking the standard route of the N2 national highway out of Cape Town, rather head into the Roberson valley that I mentioned last week and take the R62 route to Oudtshoorn. There are some very small but amazing little towns dotted along this route and the pace of life in this part of the world is significantly slower than speeding up the N2.
Inside Tip: Stop at Ronnies Sex Shop for a meal and a drink. (This is a small and very cool little bar along the R62. It used to be just Ronnies Shop until some of his friends painted sex next to it as a joke. This started bringing in more and more curious visitors and the name stayed)

From Ronnies, just outside of Barrydale, head into Outdshoorn for some ostrich and crocodile farming and a visit to the famous Cango Caves. The caves are absolutely incredible and the adventure tour takes you through some pretty tight sections including the Devils chimney and the mailbox. Not for the claustrophobic.
Inside Tip: Visit Oudtshoorn around the beginning of April for the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival to get a real inside look at Afrikaans music and culture.

From Oudtshoorn, take a really beautiful drive over the Outeniqua Pass to the coast and head through to Knynsa, voted one of South Africa's favourite towns ( a few days strolling around the town and you will soon see why)
Inside Tip: Visit around the beginning of July and catch the Knysna Oyster Festival, one of the biggest festivals in the country, featuring a lot of Oysters and some great cycling, running and adventure races. Make sure you book accommodation well in advance.

Moving further along the coast, just inland from East London, lies the spectacular Amathole mountain range and the tiny town of Hogsback. Famed as the area that inspired J.R.R Tolkiens Lord of the Rings. This is not very likely to be an accurate story as Tolkien left here at a very early age, but irrelevant of that fact, it is a truly incredible place. The sort of place in which time completely stands still and you will never have felt so relaxed. There are some great walks and waterfalls for any level of fitness.
Inside Tip: Make sure you have a meal at the Hogsback Inn and make some time for lying on your back watching the stars, there aren't many places where you will see such a beautiful night-time sky.

Till next time..

Vince