Known as one of the best road trips in South Africa, the Garden Route is an 8 hour direct journey will take you from the Western Cape to Eastern Cape over a few days. The journey is known for all the greenery, wineries, beaches, and cute fishing villages that you pass along the way.
In our case, we went from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth (since renamed Gqerberha ) and spent a mere 3 nights roundtrip. (This was like the very last thing I did before the world locked down for COVID, so things were already escalating and we rushed our trip to get home in time). I would advise you take 5 nights so you can really enjoy all the stops along the way and leave more time for hikes, surfing, and local adventures!
This was one of the few times in my travels that we did rent a car in order to maximize our time, but that's a shoutout to my awesome friend that did all the driving on the left** side of the road, nonetheless.
If you do wanna do the Garden Route solo or without a car, look no further than the incredible BAZ Bus. They have vans traveling daily around the country to the most popular tourist destinations, and you can buy a pass for a route or a floating day pass to use as you like. They can take you all over the country safely, and the bonus is to meet people along the way! I didn't get the chance to try it but heard great things about it, especially for the young backpacking crowd.
Mossel Bay
To get some distance down on the first day, we skipped the popular first stop of Hermanus. Hermanus is famous for whale sightings and even has some surf! We didn't get to see it in this whirlwind trip but it's worth checking out.
Instead, we went onward to stay the first night in Mossel Bay. In this town we enjoyed the tide pools and rock formations for sunset and also got to explore the "Point of Human Origins," a free archaeological site and interpretive walk. Mussels have long been considered to be a hardy food that could sustain early peoples, so it makes sense why people were estimated to live here up to 160,000 years ago! Once it got dark in Mossel Bay, there wasn't much to do and it became a sleepy fishing town so we retreated to our Airbnb.
Although I didn't partake, I saw a surfer here in the water so there is great prospect for waves if you're bringing your board with you!
Tsitsikamma National Park
For many people, this is the highlight of the Garden Route! This national park has a huge hanging bridge which we hiked to, and you can also kayak into the stunning gorges. There were cabins here where you can stay the night and participate in other ecotourism activities, but we just stopped for a few hours before heading onward.
While in the area, you won’t be far from the world’s highest bungee jump, but if you know me and that I’m a scaredy cat, you already know we didn’t stop there!
Port Elizabeth
We spent the second night in Port Elizabeth, having reached the eastern edge of the Garden Route. One of the bigger cities in the country, it’s not particularly safe but does have a nice touristic boardwalk area and obviously lots of history. Here is where I picked up my most favorite necklace, a choker with an Africa pendant that I had custom engraved with the world “yeet” haha. Yes, back in 2020, yeet was probably my favorite thing to say.
If you're a surfer, you'll notice there is a huge red flag in my itinerary-- there is no stop at Jeffrey's Bay! Well, at the time I was barely a surfer and was traveling in a rush with non-surfers, so unfortunately I didn't stop at one of the best waves in the world, despite being so darn close. Who cares though, I will most surely be back :) The infamous JBay is a beautiful right hand point, considered one of the highest quality and consistent waves in the world, and a token spot on the WSL tour.
Addo Elephant National Park
Photos courtesy of my lovely friend Julia and her amazing safari photography!
Just 30 minutes outside Port Elizabeth, we woke up early the next morning to go on safari! My main goal while I was in South Africa was to see my favorite animal, the majestic African elephant, in her natural habitat. That was a big justification for driving all the way out to the Eastern Cape, so we could visit Addo Elephant National Park, home to over 600 African elephants. A little look into my childhood, I've been obsessed with elephants since I was three years old and have been collecting them throughout my life... even today, I travel most places with my little elephant plushy :) There is no animal as beautiful, intelligent, and kind as the African elephant! They can be distinguished from the Indian (Asian) elephant because they have an ear "shaped like Africa," are bigger, and do not have the two protruding bumps on their head.
The most well known and biggest park for seeing African safari animals is Kruger, but it is on the opposite side of the country from Cape Town so this was our next closest bet. Everyone has their own priorities for ethical and sustainable travel, but it was really important to me to see animals in a natural, protected space, as opposed to a "safari park" that has brought in animals artificially. Addo was a great place to see them, and we booked a day tour for a great price!
TIP: When booking safaris throughout Africa, there seem to be an infinite number of options for safari tours, with pricing ranging from budget to luxury. All I can say is that in my limited experience, I have always booked my safaris about as budget as you can get, and was still really impressed with the kind hospitality and all the beautiful animals I have been able to see! The difference in cost is more likely to be about all the amenities and hotel options than about the actual quality of the safari sightings, after all.
Our 4 hour tour was ample time to see countless herds of African elephants and their babies, little dung beetles and warthogs, many, many zebras and no lions this time! I was stoked on LIFE if you can see in these pictures, and everytime I look down at my African elephant tattoo that I now have on my ankle, I think back to this special day.
Knysna
After a long day on safari, we drove halfway back towards Cape Town to stay at the pretty town of Knysna. We didn't get to see much here but I know it is considered one of the safest and most livable towns in the country, so I'm sure there is plenty to explore if you give yourself time. Unfortunately, it was at this very moment that I accepted the pandemic would rock my world and I booked a flight around the world back to San Francisco, CA to brace for our new reality :,)
In total, our roundtrip Garden Route trip from Cape Town passed by super quick but I am excited to do it over again someday with a little bit more time and flexibility, and of course some surfing!
Have you been on the garden route and what were some highlights that I missed on here?
Just a girl that loves elephants!
For more Cape Town specific content, be sure to check out my posts on beaches, neighborhoods, and hiking trails!
