Garden Route
The Garden Route describes part of the southern coast of South Africa known for its natural splendour and tourism facilities. It stretches from Hermanus in the Western Cape Province, in the West, to Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape Province in the East. It includes towns such as Mossel Bay, George, Knysna and Plettenberg Bay.
It has a Mediterranean maritime climate, with moderately hot summers, and mild to chilly winters. It is one of the richest rainfall areas in South Africa, most of which occurs in the winter months, brought by the humid sea-winds from the Indian Ocean.
Large forests lie at the feet of the fabled Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma mountains. The Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma indigenous forests are a unique mixture of Cape Fynbos and temperate forest and offer hiking trails and an exciting opportunity to see the last remaining forest elephants of South Africa. The area teems with birdlife. Nearly 300 species are to be found in the great variety of habitats ranging from fynbos to forest to wetlands.
No less than ten important nature reserves embrace the varied ecosystems of the area as well as unique marine reserves, home to soft coral reefs, dolphins, seals and a host of other marine life. Various bays along the Garden Route are nurseries to the endangered Southern Right Whale which come there to calve in the winter and spring (July to December).