Comments for South Africa - Lowveld to Cape Town via Garden Route?

Comments for
South Africa - Lowveld to Cape Town via Garden Route?

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Dec 11, 2008
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It'll be a great trip!
by: Alison

Hi Ronel/ Natasha

(I got the same e-mail twice, but from different people?!)

Let me just confirm two things first:

you are hiring a vehicle to do the drive (possibly a Vito)

you have 9-10 days in total for the trip?

As to what is on the route - yes the Drakensberg and Golden Gate could be considered roughly to be 'on the way' but you don't really have time to see them if you really want to do the Garden Route as well i.e. Plett, Knysna etc.

West Coast and Paternoster are beyond Cape Town, (only a couple of hundred kms) if you are driving from the east as you plan to.

There will be no whales around in March, they are only here in the second half of the year really.

I think you need to decide if you really want to see the Garden Route, or the Drakensberg and Golden Gate.

To see the Garden Route and Cape Town in the time you have, I suggest you fly to P.E. and hire your vehicle there, then drive down the coast on the N2 as far as George before going inland a little to Oudtshoorn and finishing the trip on the R62.

Along the coast, I would stop overnight at Nature's Valley (Tranquillity Lodge), Knysna and Oudtshoorn (Chandelier).

A good stop on the R62 from Oudtshoorn would be Montagu.

Then you could visit the Winelands on your way into Cape Town from the R62. Robertson is a lovely stop for a night (try this place) with some great wine farms, then Franschhoek for the next night. It is closer to town and full of the Cape Dutch and Huguenot historical buildings, not to mention INCREDIBLE food and classy lodging!

In Cape Town itself, Camps Bay would probably be a great place for you to stay as it would meet your accommodation requirements and is walking distance to beaches and restaurants.

Once you have done the sights in Cape Town you could plan to spend your 2 'beach days' in Paternoster on the West Coast, it is an easy drive and definitely worthwhile.

Let me know what you decide and I can give you other specific stops along the route, as well as more great places to stay and things to do.

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