Garden Route Archives - Focused Travels

How to spend a day in Mossel Bay, South Africa

While on our road trip through the Garden Route in South Africa, we left Oudtshoorn early in the morning. We arrived in Mossel Bay just in time for brunch. While doing our research on visiting Mossel Bay, we realized that there were plenty of recommended restaurants in Mossel Bay and we could not wait to start trying them out!

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Brunch at the Sea Gypsy Restaurant

According to reviews on TripAdvisor and speaking to friends and colleagues who have been to Mossel Bay, the Sea Gypsy is a must-visit restaurant in Mossel Bay. The Sea Gypsy restaurant is near the Mossel Bay Harbor. It is an authentic place and fits the harbor area like a glove with decor reminding me of a fishing boat. The Sea Gypsy has wooden tables and benches as furniture. On the beams hang shipping memorabilia and fishing items, such as fishing nets. My type of place – somewhere you can kick your shoes off and just sit and relax without worrying about appearances.

Mossel Bay - Sea Gypsy Restaurant — The decor at the Sea Gypsy Restaurant in Mossel Bay

The Sea Gypsy was empty when we arrived. The service was quick and efficient. It was not long before we were all sitting and eating Calamari and chips, for which the Sea Gypsy is known. The portions were large, the calamari, fish and the chips freshly fried. It was the perfect way to start the day in Mossel Bay, eating good food while watching and smelling the ocean from the large windows.

Mossel Bay - Sea Gypsy Restaurant food — Fresh fish, calamari and chips at the Sea Gypsy Restaurant in Mossel Bay

Visiting the Bartholomeu Dias Museum Complex

Not far from the Sea Gypsy is the Bartholomey Dias Museum Complex. We decided to stop here to give the kids a bit of an educational element to their holiday.

According to the website of the complex, King João (John) 11, of Portugal wanted to discover a sea route to the tip of Africa. He sent Diago Cão in 1482, but he did not find the tip of Africa. Bartholomeu Dias followed later in 1487. Apparently, Dias sailed past the southern tip of Africa without realizing it. He eventually changed his course to find land again and ended at the Gouritz River. When the waves calmed down sufficiently for him to land, he landed at Saint Blaize. Saint Blaze became Mossel Bay.

Mossel Bay - Caravel at Dias Museum — A replica of the life-size caravel Dias used to sail to the tip of Africa – featured in the Dias Museum Complex

Many years later a settlement was established at Mossel Bay.

In the complex, there are five National Monuments of which 4 are buildings that date from between 1830 to 1902. The one building features a life-size replica of Dias’ Caravel, which was probably the highlight for us and the most popular item in the complex. Not only is it a life-size caravel, but everyone gets to walk on the Caravel and go down in the galley to see the sleeping quarters.

Cape St Blaize Lighthouse

When the kids heard that there was a lighthouse in Mossel Bay, they wanted to visit it immediately. I was keen too. We parked in a parking lot at the bottom of a road leading to the lighthouse. There is a nice little hike to the top of the mountain where the Cape St Blaize lighthouse is situated. There are various stopping points, and the views were magnificent. It had rained the night before, and the sand was mud, which made it slightly slippery, but there are bricks and rocks in-between to give you a firm footing.

The ocean in this area was wild with high and rough waves breaking on the rocks at the bottom of the hiking path.

Along the way, there are signs with some information on the sea life, the lighthouse and its history – very informative.

View along the way to the St Blaize Lighthouse

When we arrived at the top of the hiking path, we were disappointed to find the lighthouse was completely fenced in. We tried walking around, but it appears to be inaccessible to the public. This was a big disappointment for us all.

A lazy afternoon on one of Mossel Bay’s blue flag beaches

In the late afternoon, we decided to take the kids to the beach. It was a lovely summer’s day, but there was a chilly breeze, so we thought even if they didn’t swim much, they could at least build sand castles. We went to Santos Beach, which was closest to our hotel. The beach was not busy. The location is convenient; there are some restaurants located close to the beach.

Mossel Bay - Santos Beach sandcastle — Building sand castles on Santos Beach

The kids were brave and swam despite the cold breeze, while we built sand castles. The perfect way to spend a few hours in the sun to get much needed Vitamin D.

Traditional South-African food at Kaai 4

After the day’s exploring of Mossel Bay, we were quite tired and hungry. We decided to go to Kaai 4 for supper. Kaai 4 is located near the Sea Gypsy in the harbor area. Kaai 4 has wooden tables, and benches for sitting on and the whole place has a rustic look and feel. You can sit there barefoot with your toes dipped in the sea sand under the tables.

Mossel Bay - Kaai 4 decor — The decor at Kaai 4 in Mossel Bay

At Kaai 4 all the food is cooked on an open fire. They serve many traditional South-African dishes such as roosterkoek and potjiekos. The prices are reasonable.

Mossel Bay - Kaai 4 meat dishes — Meat options at Kaai 4

We were mistaken for foreigners by the cashiers and had to sit through a lesson on South African dishes before we could order. This was amusing!

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The end of our day in Mossel Bay

All too soon our day in Mossel Bay came to an end. We were all tired from all the walking and exploring. One thing we all agreed on – Mossel Bay can be considered for a much longer visit on a future holiday!

Have you been to Mossel Bay or the Garden Route? What did you enjoy most about your visit there?

How to spend a perfect day in the Stormsriver Village

By Sabs 2 Comments

In my post about our Garden Route itinerary, I briefly mentioned the Stormsriver Village. The Stormsriver Village is a tiny little town at the border of the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape. Small as it is, the village packs a punch when it comes to scenery and activities.

How to spend a perfect day in the Stormsriver Village

After spending some time in Nature’s Valley, we drove to the Storms River Mouth Restcamp. We spent only one day there, but it was an eventful day. Here is what we did during our one day there.

Breakfast in the Stormsriver Village

We started the day off with breakfast at the Bistro right at the entrance of the Stormsriver Village. The variety on the menu was not too great, but there was something for each of us. The portions were good. The staff was friendly. A good way to start our day in the Stormsriver Village. Also, it serves as the information centre for the Stormsriver Village, so we got some information on things to do there.

Segway tour to the Tsitsikamma Forest

After breakfast, we made our way to Segway Tours in Stormsriver, which promised on their website to be the perfect family adventure. Doing a segway tour was a specific request the kids made and which I had been a bit reluctant to do, but I have to admit it was more fun that I had thought it would be and it turned out to be a perfect family adventure despite my misgivings.

The Segway tour lasted about 90 minutes, including the training session and the ride into the Tsitsikamma forest. It was exhilarating! The kids wanted more, but unfortunately the longer tours were fully booked.

The Stormsriver mouth

After the Segway tour, we decided to go to the Tsitsikamma section of the Stormsriver mouth to walk to the Stormsriver mouth bridge. When we arrived at the parking point nearest to the bridge, we found the most stunning place we had been on our entire road trip. The waves were wild, the scenery green and it was the ideal location to admire nature. If I ever return to the Garden Route, this is where I want to spend a few days enjoying the mood swings of the ocean here. It was breathtaking and a must-see for anyone who has an appreciation for nature.

Walking to the Stormsriver mouth bridge was quite a tough workout with plenty of stairs to climb along the way! This, together with the morning’s excitement with the Segway Tour, we were starving by this time!

Supper in the Stormsriver Village

Lucky, the Stormsriver Village, also caters for different tastes in food. We were very excited to discover Marilyn’s 60s Diner near our hotel. It serves American food and has some very cool items from the 1960s such as Cadillacs, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley memorabilia. After a delicious burger and milkshake, the kids wanted some internet time and went to the hotel room.

Marilyns 60s diner in the Stormsriver Village

Hubby and I decided to explore the Tsitsikamma Micro-brewery, right next door to Marilyn’s Diner. The owner, who also happened to own Marilyn’s Diner and the hotel we stayed at, was there serving customers himself. He and hubby got into a lengthy discussion on beer and the process behind making craft beer. The beer was good, and we tried several different ones.

Tsitsikamma Micro Brewery in the Stormsriver Village — Tsitsikamma Micro Brewery

And so the day came to an end. It had been an almost magical day with everything we did being fun and exciting and enjoyable.

Visiting the Stormsriver Village was an experience never to be forgotten. I hope we will be able to return there one day!

Have you ever been to the Stormsriver Village? Or did you ever have a day that was magical and where everything just seemed to fall into place?

Places to visit in Oudtshoorn, the ostrich capitol of the world

By Sabs Leave a Comment

After spending our first night in Kimberley during our recent road trip, we made way to Oudtshoorn. During our time there, I found out that Oudtshoorn is known as the ostrich capitol of the world. Not just South Africa, the world! Impressive. So, what are the places to visit in Oudtshoorn? Here is how we kept busy….

Places to visit in Oudtshoorn

We only spend one day in Oudtshoorn, but it was a busy one. See what we managed to squeeze in in one day.

The Cango Caves in Oudtshoorn

A bucket list item of mine has always been to visit the Cango Caves. It is not that I love caves so much, but it was more that I felt the Cango Caves is THE cave to see in South Africa. The Cango Caves are located about 40 minutes outside of Oudtshoorn. We arrived there bright and early, just in time for the first tour of the morning.

Impressive rock formations in the Cango Caves

There are two tours on offer, namely, the heritage tour and the adventure tour. The adventure tour is exactly as the name says – for those who like to be daring and try and squeeze into small, dark and narrow spaces. This was not us. We took the Heritage tour and enjoyed it very much. The Heritage Tour is about an hour long, but one sees so many different caves and formations in that hour that it feels much longer than just an hour.

We also had a fabulous guide. He was full of jokes, but also explained the different types of caves and the formations in the cave really well. He also made sure that everyone stayed with the group and that there were plenty of opportunities for taking photos.

I thought going into the caves would be scary as I am a bit claustrophobic, but the inside of the caves have been lighted very well and paving has been laid to make it easier for the tour groups to move around inside. For the Adventure Tour I am sure it is a bit more rustic.

Wilgewandel Holiday Farm

By this time we were starving since we had been up early to go to Cango Caves but had not had breakfast yet. So off to Wilgewandel holiday farm we went.

Wilgewandel Holiday Farm was an oasis for the kids. It is not a fancy place with all kinds of gadgets. Instead there is good old fun activities. The first thing the kids wanted to do was ride a camel. I think it was a bit more bumpy that they expected, but they still enjoyed it.

The next thing we attempted was the zipline or foefie slide across the dam. Unfortunately it was a bit short and over just as the adrenaline kicked in.

We then spend some time seeing and feeding all the farm animals. There were some ostriches, donkeys, goats, lambs, chickens and rabbits. After that we all had a ride on the donkey cart. It was the first time in my life that I had a donkey cart ride and it was, surprisingly, a lot of fun.

I then played Ghwarra-ghwarra golf for the first time in my life . It is the same as normal putt-putt or mini-golf, but the course is sand-based and not carpet-based. All kinds of plants grew on the course and made getting the ball into the hole a bit more challenging.

There were other activities also on offer that we did not do, including paddle boats and peddle cars.

After all these exciting activities the kids wanted to do the water slides. Unfortunately, the day was a bit chilly and getting wet was a bit too cold, so we did not stay there too long.

Cango Wildlife Ranch

The Cango Wildlife Ranch is about 20 minutes by car from Wilgewandel Holiday Farm. We arrived just in time for the last tour of the day!

We had a very knowledgeable guide and he made the tour quite interesting and fun for us and the kids. He fed a crocodile and I have to admit that I was surprised by how high crocodiles can jump for food.

The Cango Wildlife Ranch has many different sections to see, including Lemur Falls, Kuranda Forest, Cheetahland, Wallaby Walkabout and the Snakepark. I loved the lemurs and the tigers, especially the white tiger. There were lions as well, fast asleep in the late afternoon sun.

Colourful birds at the Cango Wildlife Ranch

The Cango Wildlife Ranch has a coffee shop and a souvenir shop. We definitely consider this one of the must-see places in Oudtshoorn.

The Safari Ostrich Farm

The Safari Ostrich Farm is located 20 minutes outside of Oudtshoorn, but not in the same direction as the Cango Caves and Wilgewandel Holiday Farm.

Once again we were quite lucky in being just in time for the last tour of the day. The tour kicked-off with a visit to a little room where you can feel the different types of ostrich feathers and also see what ostrich feathers are used for.

Then we all got onto a trailer that is being pulled by a tractor and we went to the ostrich camps. We were given the chance to feed the ostriches. One of them was quite aggressive and seemed to come just for the food in my hand!

We could also stand on an ostrich egg. These eggs contain 24 normal eggs inside and the shell is so hard even a person weighing more than 100kgs can stand on it.

Those who wanted to ride an ostrich were assisted in getting on the ostrich and taking a short ride with two guides – one holding the ostrich and the other making sure the passenger on the ostrich is safe. It was quite funny as one has to sit leaning back on an ostrich, meaning you already feel like you are falling.

We were then taken to a separate area to witness an ostrich race. Ostriches can run really fast and they do like to kick as well.

We had a really good guide at the Safari Ostrich Show Farm as well. He certainly knew more than just a little about ostriches.

After all this excitement we went for a quick glance to the souvenir shop where they sell ostrich leather handbags, feathers and other cute and expensive things.

The end of our day in Oudtshoorn

What a busy day it had been! But so worth it. As you can see, there are many places to visit in Oudtshoorn! The kids had a blast and learned so many new things and even us adults learned a thing or two.

Have you been to Oudtshoorn before? What were your favourite places to visit in Oudtshoorn? If you haven’t been, does it sound like a place you would like to visit?

Our 10 Day Garden Route Itinerary

By Sabs 2 Comments

There is often disagreement between people about where exactly the Garden Route in South Africa starts – some say it starts in Mosselbay, others believe it only begins in George. Similarly, people can also not agree on whether the Garden Route ends with the Stormsriver Village (still in the Western Cape) or with Port Elizabeth (in the Eastern Cape). To let you know what the Garden Route covers, we decided to share our 10-day Garden Route itinerary.

The Garden Route is not very long (450 kilometres – about 4,5 hours of driving) and can easily be driven in a day. BUT doing that would mean missing out on all the exciting things to see and do on the Garden Route. Not leaving anything to chance, we decided to do the “full” Garden Route, all the way from Mosselbay to Port Elizabeth. Our road trip spanned a total of 14 days with ten days spent exploring the Garden Route.

Our Garden Route itinerary

Here is our Garden Route itinerary and a short description of each place we visited.

Day 1: Mosselbay

Mossel Bay is one of the seaside cities in the world with the most moderate climate. We spend only one day in Mosselbay as there were not that many sights around. Also, it is one of the most popular towns in the Garden Route during South African school holidays, meaning that accommodation can become scarce and quite pricey! There are a few things to do in Mosselbay apart from spending time on the beach. The Dias Museum is in Mosselbay, and there is also the Cape St Blaize lighthouse to see. Another highlight in Mosselbay is the many restaurants selling authentic South African food.

Day 2 – 3: George, Wilderness & Buffelsbay

Wilderness coastline — Wilderness’ coastline

Driving from Mosselbay past George, you arrive at Wilderness. George has several excellent attractions, such as museums and old churches, but Wilderness is easily one of the most beautiful places in the Garden Route. It is small, but there are plenty to see in and around Wilderness. The Dolphin Point Lookout is just outside Wilderness, and Buffels Bay beach is a 15-minute drive from there. The Map of Africa is in the mountains near Wilderness. Due to its size, it is a relatively expensive place. The beaches are lovely, but apparently not ideal for swimming because of the strong currents.

Day 4 – 5: Knysna, Brenton on Sea

Knysna, the heart of the Garden Route, as seen from Margaret's viewpoint — Knysna, the heart of the Garden Route, as seen from Margaret’s Viewpoint

From Wilderness, you drive past Sedgefield (South Africa) before passing Brenton-on-Sea and eventually arriving in Knysna. Knysna is in the heart of the Garden Route. An expensive place, very popular with foreign tourists. Knysna annually hosts the Oyster Festival in the winter, which is attended by thousands of people. There is also a marathon held at the same time as the Oyster Festival. Knysna is an essential part of any trip to the Garden Route and as such should be one everyone’s Garden Route itinerary.

Day 6 – 7: Plettenberg Bay, Nature’s Valley

From Knysna, it is about an hour’s drive to Plettenberg Bay, another city that is very popular, but to a different type of crowd. Every year in December, after finishing their final exams, the grade 12 students go to Plettenberg Bay for their first adult trip without their parents. Plettenberg Bay has a very central location with lots of activities and sights in the surrounding areas. It is another of the more expensive places in the Garden Route as it is very popular with foreigners, so we decided to stay near Nature’s Valley which is a bit more isolated and much smaller. There are lots of excellent restaurants in Plettenberg Bay, and the beaches are fabulous too!

Day 8: Stormsriver mouth and Village

The suspension bridge at the Stormsriver mouth

The Stormsriver Village is a tiny town in the Garden Route. Just before getting to the village, you can see the Stormsrivier, which to me was the most beautiful scenery of the entire Garden Route.

I felt like the Stormsriver Village should be the end of the Garden Route as it was the last town on the Garden Route that is located in the Western Cape. Not far from Stormsriver Village, you enter the Eastern Cape and the landscape changes completely.

Day 9-10: St Francis Bay, Port St Francis, Jeffrey’s Bay & Port Elizabeth

Cape St Francis lighthouse — Cape St Francis Lighthouse

We passed several towns on our way to Port St Francis, Saint Francis Bay and Jeffreys Bay. Although slightly off of the main route, we had heard that these towns were gorgeous, unique and had lots of shells on the beach.

After spending some time in Jeffrey’s Bay, we eventually made our way to Port Elizabeth. Port Elizabeth is the capitol city of the Eastern Cape Province. It is also known as the windy city, the friendly city or simply PE among South Africans. Plenty of lovely beaches, nice restaurants on the beach and much more affordable accommodation compared to the other towns and cities in the Garden Route. There are several museums and other sights to explore. Despite the wind, it has a lovely mild climate most of the time (in summer).

There you have it – our Garden Route itinerary. Overall, I was satisfied with the amount of time we spent at each location. If I had to make any changes, I would probably add more time for Plettenberg Bay and Port Elizabeth. However, my favourite places were the quiet and small towns of Nature’s Valley and Stormsriver Village.

Have you ever been to the Garden Route? What was your favourite place to visit there?