Garden Route

The Garden Route officially runs 300 kilometers from Mossel Bay to the Storms River mouth, though most people extend it west to Hermanus and east to Port Elizabeth. The N2 highway connects everything, hugging the coast through a landscape that changes dramatically every few kilometers. You've got the Outeniqua Mountains forming a dramatic backdrop inland, while the coast alternates between long sandy beaches, rocky headlands, and river mouths. The Knysna and Tsitsikamma forests are what's left of the indigenous woodland that once covered this entire region – now they're protected in national parks. The Indian Ocean here is warmer than the Atlantic side of the Cape, making swimming actually pleasant. Plettenberg Bay regularly hits 22°C in summer, compared to Cape Town's chilly 16°C. But don't expect tropical temperatures – this is still the southern tip of Africa. The whole region sits in a Mediterranean climate zone, which means wet winters and dry summers. The mountains create their own weather patterns, so you can be sunbathing in Knysna while it's raining 20 kilometers inland in the forests.