Garden Route : South Africa
The Garden Route is a very scenic stretch on the south-eastern coast of South Africa, starting at Mossel Bay and finishing at Storms River. There are various excellent stop offs along the way including two towns on this list – Knysna and Oudtshoorn. The Garden route has ten different nature reserves which is home to dolphins, seals and the endangered Southern Right Whale. In addition to the marine life there are almost 300 species of beautiful multi-coloured birds living here. To see the area you can hire a car or travel on Africa’s last remaining passenger steam train the Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe. Although the train doesn’t stretch the entire length of the Garden Route it’s still worth checking out.The Garden Route (Afrikaans: Tuinroete) is a popular stretch of the south-eastern coast of South Africa. It stretches from Heidelberg in the Western Cape to the Storms Riverwhich is crossed along the N2 coastal highway over the Paul Sauer Bridge in the extreme western reach of the neighbouring Eastern Cape.
It has an oceanic climate, with mild to warm summers, and mild to cool winters. It has the mildest climate in South Africa and the second mildest climate in the world, afterHawaii, according to the Guinness Book of Records. Temperatures rarely fall below 10°C in winter and rarely climb beyond 28°C in summer. Rain occurs year-round, with a slight peak in the spring months, brought by the humid sea-winds from the Indian Ocean rising and releasing their precipitation along the Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma Mountains just inland of the coast.
The Route is sandwiched between the aforementioned mountains and the Indian Ocean. The Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma indigenous forests are a unique mixture of CapeFynbos and Temperate Forest and offer hiking trails and eco-tourism activities. Nearly 300 species of bird life are to be found in a variety of habitats ranging from fynbos toforest to wetlands.
Ten nature reserves embrace the varied ecosystems of the area as well as unique marine reserves, home to soft coral reefs, dolphins, seals and a host of other marine life. Various bays along the Garden Route are nurseries to the endangered Southern Right Whale which come there to calve in the winter and spring (July to December).
Although the most popular exploration of the Garden Route is by car, it is also the site of Africa's last remaining passenger steam train, the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe.The Garden Route is home to the worlds highest bridge bungy jump, the Bloukrans Bridge Bungy, operated by Face Adrenalin.