Knysna
(Pronounced as ’naaajsna’.)
CT – Knysna is quite a long drive, so we decided to plan 2 stops. First one: Ronnies Sex shop, a famous stop on the Garden Route. Not a real sex shop (to Harry’s disappointment) but a pub where you can grab a proper snack. Funny fact: Ronnie used to sell groceries until his friends pranked him one night by spraying the word ‘sex’ next to the shop’s name. Since then Ronnie’s sex shop became a not to miss pitstop for all Garden Route cruisers.
Second stop: Oudtshoorn, home of the famous ostrich’s ranges and spooky Cango Caves. We had to skip the Cango caves due to tight schedule. For the ride of your life on an ostrich, make sure you visit Highgate Ostrich Show Farm.
Where to stay?
We stayed at a nice cottage through Airbnb.
Where to eat?
– African Bean is a cute breakfast place with excellent coffees and omelets. For dinner go to the waterfront, a cozy (vind syn) harbor with plenty of fish restaurants. Knysna is a worldwide recommended spot for oysters.
– Ile de pain for lunch.
– We had dinner at Dry Dock (delicious) and Sirocco (quite disappointing).
What to do?
– Mountain biking: Knysna provides lots of trails for every level, make sure to book bikes in advance in high season in one of the three shops.
– Hike to the Knysna Heads: even after TM and LH, Knysna Heads still provides stunning views.
– Knysna Elephant park: Want to walk with or ride an elephant? Book in advance! We only got the chance to meet and feed those friendly giants, which was already quite impressive. If you want a next level elephant experience you can book a sleepover in one of the two rooms in the elephant dorm.
– Run run run: For my marathon training we went for a 20k run along on a very remote mountain bike trail. Pretty cool to run in the dense bushes of Knysna
– The Farmer’s Market!
Jeffreys Bay
Jeffreys Bay is the surfer walhalla of SA. Every winter this mythic wave hosts the J-Bay Billabong Pro championship. One of the ten stops of the World Surf League. (i had to mention this…). Apart from surfing and outlet shopping (more about this, further) there’s really not much to do to be honest. Surf culture rules town.
What to do?
– Surf of course: Rent a board at main beach in one of the many surf shops. Ask local advice where to go surfing. Wake up early for epic sunrise sessions at SuperTubes and The Point. Harry woke up every morning at 5AM to conquer the waves while I did some Youtube workout movies or did my marathon training.
– Outlet shopping: Several discount shops from surf brands as Billabong, Reef, Quicksilver are situated in J-Bay. Personally, I’m not a big fan of surf clothing but I did find nice things (bikinis!) at very low prices.
– Go skydiving: We planned to skydive in Plettenberg but due to perfect weather conditions in J Bay, we went for this opportunity. The J Bay Skydive is new so we were delighted to go and test it out. We dove from 9000 feet (with a freefall of 20 seconds) and chose to make a beach landing (which is optional). The flight is really nerve racking though! One for the bucket list.
Plettenberg
What to do?
– Monkey land: take a guided walk and Chill and hang with blueballs monkeys and more than 73 other specie in the forest.
– Snake world: this is a stop for diehard reptile lovers only. The first 3 snakes are interesting, but the rest of the tour is a bit dreadful, we thought. But still, you can hold a couple of snakes, if you want to.
– Safari Tour: Even in Plett you can see The Big Five. Although the animals live in a park we had a glimpse of what Kruger park and other Safari destinations all have to offer in 2h!
– Visit the Tsitsikamma National Park: we booked a Kayak & Lilo tour which was fun and afterwards strolled around. There’s the Suspension bridge that gives you an epic view over the river mouth. Plan a lunch at the river Mouth restaurant, Even if it doesn’t look very fancy, the sea food is delicious and you have a stunning view from breaking waves over the rocks!
– Robberg Trail: Well known to be a seal hotspot! What looked like a normal hike ended up in the best hike of our trip! We chose the longest route (about 10k) and it took us about 4 hours to finish due to mind-blowing views, hidden beaches, rock pools, and the seals of course… We had a cracker of a day!
Where to eat?
– The Table: By far the most popular stop in plett for some sunset drinks.
– The Fat Fish: If you have something to celebrate, our you just want to have a fancy night, great sea food!
– Nguni: a really nice and cosy ‘african’ restaurant held by a French guy, he managed to fine tune some of African all time classics in classy meals!
– Sajuiced: Acai bowls, good coffee and enough omelets and wraps to feed my boyfriend.
– Bocca Dolce: Talking about a hidden gem… Breakfast or for lunch, this vegan buffet is a must stop for vegan lovers.
