Hi,
My girlfriend and I will be driving from Addo (after 1 night there) to Cape Town in Feb, leaving the 20th, arriving the 26th. I was hoping I could get some itinerary advice from someone here. We have a few points of interest in between, but are having a tough time planning the actual driving route/order, and figuring travel times. Here's our rough sketch so far:
20th
leave Addo mid-morning/mid-day. follow R75 to Graaff-Reinet.
walk around town, spend the night
21st
walk for a couple hours in valley of desolation and karoo nature reserve
leave mid-day, take best route to ksnysna or somewhere in/near tsitsikamma (N9, then R339/R340 to N2?)
drive to nature's valley, hike around?
22nd
take round trip steam train between knysna and george
23rd
more morning hiking/driving around tsitsikamma?
leave mid-morning/mid-day
visit swartberg pass
overnight at oudtshoorn or prince albert
24th
follow R62 then N1 to Cape Town.
That leaves an extra day (perhaps to overnight in Montagu, or just to spend in Cape Town (already have 3 nights there). Does anyone have suggestions for where best to spend it, or if I've even scheduled enough time for the route and activities described? Any suggestions for additional or alternate stops? Am I missing any great opportunities, or wasting time on less than exciting pursuits? Also, accommodations and dining suggestions are very welcome. Thanks in advance for any advice,
Josh
Addo/Port Elizabeth to Cape Town itinerary
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I'd spend as much time possible on the garden route. Most of the major stops are on the first half of the route from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town. We took a great mini-plane tour at Plettenburg Bay that flew over Nature's Valley and it was amazing. I hear the hikes at Wilderness are spectacular as well. If you can pick up a backpacker's guide to the garden route and it'll give more accurate timings between cities and list some fun attractions.
It really depends on if you want to see animals or not, the big 7 are in the Eastern Cape and not the Garden Route.
The Valley of Desolation is magic and well worth a visit.
On my way back I would leave the R62 at it's junction with R60 and head down to Swellendam, pick up the N2 and veer south at the Stanford/Hermanus turn off. Spending a night at Grootbos and before heading into Cape Town (via pringle bay) I would take in a morning shark dive.
Thanks for all of the comments. I'll be looking things over with them in mind, and most likely will be back with more questions!