 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
  
Knysna is an ideal base on the Garden Route from which many day trips can be made with minimal traveling. While each trip can be individually planned to accommodate your particular interests and time constraints by leaving out certain visits, the following day trips are ones we regularly make, and have proved to be both manageable and very popular. Oudtshoorn Full Day Situated in the “Klein Karoo” just 134km from Knysna, Oudtshoorn offers visitors numerous attractions. Ecologically significant and impressively beautiful, the Cango Caves, Africa’s largest show caves and one of the Seven Wonders of Southern Africa, sculptured by nature through the ages – are the archaeolgical and historical highlight of the Klein Karoo. The area also boasts around 400 ostrich farms, 3 of which have been named “Show Farms” where comprehensive tours are both informative and great fun. Visitors are allowed to sit or ride on the ostriches (within weight limits) In addition there is also a highly successful cheetah breeding station among these attractions, and to round it all off, a little wine tasting can be arranged. Interestingly, this Klein Karoo area produces the very best Port wine in South Africa
Tsitsikamma / Storms River Mouth – Full day The magical Tsitsikamma, with it’s deep forest, sunny fynbos-covered coastal cliffs and rugged shore, and at the heart of it, the pristine national park, is possibly the largest, single, no-take marine protected area in the world. Visit the Storms River Bridge, possibly enjoy a Zipline tour across the Kruis River gorge and breathtaking waterfalls; view the Big Tree in the Tsitsikamma Forest (biggest tree in the area – 800 -900 yrs old…….), Storms River Village with optional Woodcutters Journey and Canopy Tours; walk across the suspension bridge at Storms River Mouth and / or walk in the opposite direction to the Twee Riviertjies waterfall. Other options to include on this day would be a visit Natures Valley via the Bloukrans Bridge, the highest commercial bungi jump site in the world. If the bungi jumping does not appeal to you, there are various and varying walks in the Natures Valley area, and Monkeyland, Birds of Eden, Lawnwood Snakes, Porcupine Ceramics and Bramon Wine Estate at the Craggs. Enjoy a picnic lunch en-route, or dine al fresco at one of the many beautiful restaurants around Plettenberg Bay, before visiting the Plett beaches – Lookout Beach, Middle Beach and Robberg, which is another awesome day walk on it’s own. Finally, time permitting, you can enjoy sundowners at Kranshoek, one of the most beautiful spots on the Southern Cape Coast offering cliff top views of the ocean.
Knysna - Full day Visit the famous Knysna Heads where, from the viewpoints, you are able to take in the views of the Knysna Lagoon, the town itself, across to the Outeniqua Mountains and out to the Indian Ocean. In season, you may well even see whales! The East Head Café is a quaint little restaurant with a lovely deck overlooking the lagoon, ideal for morning refreshments. From the Heads we take a drive around Leisure Isle, a beautiful residential, retirement and holiday location, with it’s own Bollard Bay and Steenbok Nature Reserve, and then on to Diepwalle (Deep Walls) in the heart of the Knysna Forest from where the 18.2km Elephant Walk hike commences. However, as this is a six hour hike, we take one of the two shorter alternatives, where there are giant yellowwoods as well as a host of other interesting smaller trees, plants and wildlife to be seen, including the King Edward V11 Big Tree. An optional inclusion on this tour is to visit the Spitskop viewpoint which provides a spectacular panoramic view of the forest and Knysna area, and the beautiful Dal van Varing (dale of ferns) , a fine walk leading through en enchanting forest world of giant ferns. We head back towards Knysna via the Gouna forestry station, the San Ambrosa Catholic Church and the Simola Golf Estate. From the forests we head back to the ocean, this time to the other side of the Western Head - where the views are once again spectacular of the great Knysna Lagoon on the one side, and Buffalo Bay on the other - around the suburb of Old Belvidere with it’s beautiful old oak trees and historical Belvidere Church built in the 1850’s, and then to Brenton –on –Sea which would be the start of a lovely beach walk on another day! Our last stop is on Thesen Island from where the boats , laden with timber from the forests, set sail from the Thesens Factory, and now converted into a luxury marina. Finally, we end the day with sundowners, perhaps champagne and oysters at one of the delectable restaurants overlooking the Lagoon.
Beach & Forest Tour – optional full day On this day trip we head out along the N2 towards Sedgefield, turning off to Buffalo Bay and Goukamma Nature Reserve, which contains some of the highest vegetated dunes in South Africa, and was created to protect these characteristic coastal dunes and the bird sanctuary at Goukamma. Buffalo Bay is a magnificent beach for walking, swimming & surfing and the large beach café is a great place for morning refreshments. It is not uncommon to see whales (is season) and dolphins from the deck. If we can drag ourselves away from “Buffels” as it is known by the locals, we head inland to Karatara, the relocated home of the original woodcutters of Knysna, and then on to Rheenendal which offers many arts & crafts such as Armitage Bowls, where indigenous wood is used to make beautiful bowls and pepper grinders, and Starlight Thread which produces woven articles and painted shirts. Explore the biodiversity of fauna and flora on the captivating trails at Drupkelders at Forest Edge and Jubilee Creek . Experience some of the rich history of Knysna as we take a trip down the memory lane of the gold rush at the Bendigo Mine, Materolli Museum and the last surviving building of the gold fields, now Millwood Tea Garden.
Featherbed Nature Reserve – not quite a full day What an unforgettable experience! Featherbed Nature Reserve, where spectacular Knysna Loeries, rare seahorses & endangered blue duikers can be seen, is a Natural Heritage site just a ferry trip away from the Knysna Waterfront. Once disembarking at Featherbed – on the Western Head of the Knysna lagoon - guests enjoy a 4 x 4 trailer trip up to the top of the Head, taking in the unbelievable beauty of the pristine fynbos, coastal forests and magnificent views out to sea and across the lagoon to the Outeniqua mountains. For the not-so-energetic, the trailer is available to take you back down, but recommended is a gentle 2.2km guided walk down into the forests, ancient Khoi – Khoi caves and along the shore of Featherbed Bay, followed by a delicious buffet lunch under the canopy of the Milkwood trees. The ferry will leisurely take you back to the Knysna Waterfront, where if you are able, you have an array of restaurants to choose from at which to enjoy sundowners, or simply stroll around the shops, taking in the ambience of the marina
Wildlife Tour – optional full day The order of this day can vary depending on weather conditions. Ideally, we would start the day with an early morning whale watching trip . Brydes Whales are resident in our bays throughout the year, so it is not impossible to see them out of the whale-watching season which is officially between June and October. Southern Right whales however, return to our waters every year to mate and to breed during the season. Even without the whales, a trip to sea is a wonderful experience – being surrounded by the majesty of the sea, with dolphins and seals on view throughout the year – the view of the coastline is somewhat different to the handsome views experienced from the shore. No trip to Knysna is complete without a visit to the Knysna Elephant Park. So much of our history is interlinked with these gentle giants. To be “touched by an elephant” in a free range, but controlled environment, is a moving experience, not one to be compared to the sighting of elephants in the genuine wild. Visitors have been known to spend a whole morning with the elephants, so the rest of the day will depend on how much time you allow for this encounter! A visit to Birds of Eden and Monkeyland is a must for families with young children, and time permitting, we would include these visits on this day trip. We would preferably end the day with a game drive at one of the nearby Game Reserves in the area, ending the day with a visit to the distillery to sample some of the local African liquid expertise! Wild life!
Whales & Wine Tour – optional full day As with the Wildlife Tour above, ideally we would start this day with a whale watching excursion. From here we head down the coast to Natures Valley to enjoy one of the beach (Salt River Mouth trail) or forest walks such as the Kalander trail and the Groot River trail. Natures Valley (once known as No No Valley due to the many restrictions legislated to protect the area) is a hiker and bird watcher’s paradise. We end the day with some local wines & cheeses, oysters, mezze platters, meats, pates & homemade breads at Bramon Wine Estate, a family run estate offering their Veritas award winning Cap Classique.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Site Map
