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Along the Garden Route, just 500km from Cape Town (Kaapstad) and 250km from Port Elizabeth, Knysna is one of the Southern Cape Coasts best known holiday attractions, situated between lush forests and the shores of the peaceful lagoon, and surrounded by the unique “Fynbos” of the Garden Route area , often described as an additional wonder of the world, and comprising some 8600 plant species This exceptional area of Garden Route Gold offers visitors an unforgettable holiday - exploring a region filled with enchanting beauty and friendly people – in the woodcutters at Karatara, descendents of the Khoi and San tribes, the Griekwa and Xhosa-speaking people as well as inhabitants of both local and European descent. The town itself is a hive of activity, with local businesses, shops and many informal traders and craft markets. Steeped in history, many of the streets, buildings and residential areas are named after the original settlers in the area. Thesen Island, named after one of the oldest Knysna families who settled in Knysna in 1870 when they purchased the island and commenced boat building and furniture manufacturing, is now a small harbour town with an exclusive residential marina, shops and restaurants. The Knysna Waterfront is a harbour precinct with a vibrant atmosphere, a great spot to shop, wine & dine, or simply take in the atmosphere surrounding the boats in the marina. This is also where you would embark on the Outeniqua Choo-Choo when it is operational.
Knysna offers many activities and attractions of a wide variety, the most well known being the fabled “Knysna Heads” – two great sandstone cliffs guarding the mouth of the lagoon which connects the estuary with the sea. The western head is a privately owned nature reserve – Featherbed Nature Reserve, largely undeveloped and with controlled access. The eastern Head on the other hand is a popular residential and holiday home area, with restaurants overlooking the lagoon and accessing the rocks below. There are lookout points that have been erected at various places on both the Eastern & Western Heads, commanding spectacular views of the Indian Ocean, the Knysna Lagoon, Leisure Isle and Knysna
Knysna, twice voted Engen Town of the Year, is a wonderland of natural beauty. Unlike much of the Western Cape, Knysna does not experience specific winter rainfall, with it’s rainfall spread more evenly throughout the year. It has a temperate climate – comfortably hot summers (summer temperatures average 27 degrees C / 80.6 degrees F) and comparatively mild winters (winter temperatures average 14 degrees C / 57.2 degrees F in the daytime)
With May & June bringing with it some of the best weather that Knysna has to offer, Knysna hosts the annual Knysna Oyster Festival in June / July, together with the Knysna Forest Marathon and Half Marathon, mountain bike & cycle races, wine festival and numerous other midweek events, as well as Gastronomica and the Knysna Arts Experience in September / October. All these in the so-called off-season are resulting in this bustling holiday town becoming an all year round attraction. |
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