The main task for the day was making the 5.5 hour journey to Knysna on the Garden Route. After checking out early we decided to swing by the famous botanic garden, Kristenbosch (see pictures above). It was pretty spectacular and lived up to the hype.  It’s located on the slope of Table Mountain and more plant species than I could begin to imagine – certainly a worthwhile stop before the drive. Most of the drive was over pretty dry rolling hills, saw a few ostrich along the way but not much else out there. Once we got back on the coast we stopped at Mossel Bay – not the best town and we were hoping Knysna wasn’t similar!

Luckily, Knysna was nothing like Mossel Bay.  Once we passed Mossel Bay the vegetation changed (big trees and much greener) you could now see why it was called the Garden Route.  Knysna is located on a massive lagoon, surrounded by mountains and a narrow gap called the heads where the ocean opened up.  There were also a few islands on the lagoon where houses and restaurants were built. After checking in to our apartment where we spent the next 4 nights, we made our way to a recommendation for dinner on one of the islands.  Another amazing location for dinner, right on the water in time for sunset.

After only catching a glimpse of the town the evening before, we decided to spend the day in Knysna. We drove out to both the East and West heads.  There were tons of jelly fish that washed up on the beach as well as potential shark sightings – this made for a quick swim in the shallow water!  Still, the beach was stunning.  There was another spectacular sunset that evening and we couldn’t stop taking pictures because it kept getting better and better.  It’s probably one of the best I have ever seen (and didn’t think I would say that so soon after the Table Mountain sunset)!

On our list of places to see on the garden route was Plettenberg Bay, only 20 minutes up the road from Knysna.  We were given a recommendation from the apartment owner to hike around Robberg Point. Robberg is the Afrikaans word for seal and we soon fount out why it was called Seal Point.  The loop took us up and down on a very picturesque peninsula and after about 30 minutes of walking we saw a massive seal colony (no wonder sharks like it around here).  There must have been thousands of them and even though we were way up above we could hear and smell them.  Again, amazing views.

The owner of the Bed and Breakfast we stayed at was so nice! In fact, after 20 minutes of chitchatting he decided to join Rob on the golf course (30 minutes outside of Knysna). According to Rob, it was the “best golf course I’ve ever played on”.. I’ll take his word for it because the views were absolutely stunning. The owner also set me up with a day at the spa — an easy offer to accept! It was needed after 5-6 days of non-stop trekking.

On our way towards the Cape Town International Airport, we were able to spend a few evenings in wine country – in a small town called Stellenbosch. Bed and Breakfasts seem to be fairly popular and it’s one of our favorite ways to travel – this place was situated in the heart of wine country with some amazing views. Why not enjoy a few bottles of wine on our balcony (pic taken below)?? After another recommendation from our friend Innes, we spent the evening at Moyo – a very traditional African restaurant where the staff paints your faces upon arriving, perform African dances, and serve you like the king! And the traditional African food was just as good.