Two-weeks self-drive tour from the Cape to the Addo Elephant National Park

From Oudtshoorn, you travel on day six over the Outeniqua Mountains down to the coast with the endless beaches of the Indian Ocean. You spend two nights in the small village of Wilder- ness, right on the beach or right on the lagoon of the Touws River. You are now on the Garden Route, and so you have got many opportunities for excursions and activities from here. From long walks, or on horseback along the sandy beaches, to paddle boat tours through the primeval forests of the area, and tandem flights with paragliders along the coastline... etc.

On the eighth day of the tour, you continue the Garden Route eastwards - along the beaches of the Indian Ocean:
- One overnight stays in Natures Valley,
- and one overnight stay at the Storms River estuary.

Along this section of the route there are many opportunities for sporting activities and other activities of all kinds. Some of them are weather-dependent, such as boat tours and sailing trips. There are also activities and excursions that are more dependent on personal preferences - such as climbing tours at waterfalls, hiking through the primeval forests along the coast, bungee jumping from the Bloukrans bridge, diving and snorkeling etc.
On the subject of activities - see also our information page!

In terms of biodiversity, the Garden Route is one of the most important nature reserves in the country and therefore, it does not only attract tourists - from home and abroad. In fact, this landscape along the coast of the Indian Ocean, is also an important, scientific research object of universities from all over the world. The diversity of this ecosystems of indigenous forests, coastal boondocks, natural water courses and lakes, as well as the fynbos vegetation along the coasts and sandy beaches, forms a unique mosaic of landscape and vegetation forms that has achieved world fame for it's extraordinary beautyness.

For science, because of its complex interactions between the different vegetation and landscape zones, the Garden Route is a critical, because sensitive research focus. The "Afromontane forest" of this region, together with the primeval forests near the coast, is the largest contiguous forest area in the whole of southern Africa - sometimes even with a closed canopy. The Afromontane Forests of this region, together with the primeval forests near the coast, form the largest contiguous forest area in the whole of southern Africa - some- times even with a closed canopy. The fynbos vegetation along the beaches is part of the Cape Floral Kingdom, the so-called "Capensis", whose unique botanical biodiversity is home to more than a fifth of all plant species on the African continent.

In the dense forest areas, the native game is not so easy to spot, whereas their tracks and droppings are almost everywhere. As larger game, the bush pig, the bushbuck, blue duikers, baboons and green vervet monkeys occur as well as predators - leopards and caracals.

The native bird species, such as the knysna loerie, the narina trogon, the olive thrush, the chorister robin-chat and cape robin-chat (belonging to the family of flycatchers / muscicapidae) as well as the white-starred robin, are difficult to spot in the dense vegetation. If you want to be able to see them, you should have good hearing that can also tell apart birdsongs.

Anyone who meanders through the primeval forests on hiking trails or in a paddle boat will come across tree species such as ironwood, yellowwood, white pear, stinkwood, cherrywood and cape beech. However, these tree species - apart from their familiar-sounding names - have neither too much to do with pears, nor with cherries or beeches.
In particularly damp areas, you will encounter huge tree ferns, various climbers (e.g. wild grape), tree orchids, (such as old man’s beard and tree orchids), mosses, lichens and colour- ful fungi.
Although the entire region is considered to be part of the temperate "Mediterranean winter rain climate zone", you will find a greater botanical diversity in the forests and in the fynbos along the coast, than in most of the tropical primeval forests.

On day eleven, you continue eastwards along the Tsitsikamma mountain range towards Jeffreys Bay. Again, you will spend two nights and again right on the beach. You can relax in the "Surfers Paradise" for two days, or take trips to the surrounding area. For example to the fishing harbour of St. Francis Bay, the animal rescue station and the lighthouse of Cape St. Francis, to the Irma Booysen flower park, the Rebelsrus nature reserve - or even to the heights of the Baviaanskloof pass (...but only if you are on the way in a four-wheel drive vehicle with high ground clearance...).