itinerary for garden route/route 62
 

Provisionally here is the plan for november 2010


Overnight one night in P.E.
" " " Plett
" two nights Oudtshoorn
" one " Montagu
" two " Franshoek
" four " Capetown
We like the idea of scenic drives,older dutch cape buildings/heritage,wineries,short hikes,wildlife,birds.
I know it is 800 kms from P.E. to Capetown.Is this itinerary doable without rushing excessively?I know there was serious flooding in montagu in 2008 is it back to normal yet?is there a better place to stay between Oudtshoorn and Franshoek?
Have we left enough time for Capetown?4 and a half days in total?We leave Capetown on 12 November.Any recommendations for other places to see along the way gratefully accepted.Thanks

We did the Cape Town-PE trip in about 1.5 weeks, and it was lovely. Really beautiful. We really loved the following places:

http://www.elephanthide.co.za in Knysna. This is a great base for hiking in the nearby park. Town is also very cute and "vibey"

http://www.riverbendlodge.co.za near PE which offers game drives into Addo Elephant Park. Wonderful place with incredible service.

Oudtshoorn doesn't really merit 2 nights. It's tiny and unless you are really interested in ostrich farming, there's not much else.

Consider Knysna as a stopping place, staying at the small marina.

I support Lifeman: 2 nts. Oudtshorn is too much. One overnight stay at a nice B+B/Farm leaves you also some time for the Cangu caves if that's your cup of tea:
http://images.google.de/images?um=1&...pell=1&start=0.

KNYSNA is extremely pleasant! We had lunch right in the marina and enjoyed it tremendously. Regretted that we didn't stay longer.

When visiting Knysna you might be interested in the following activity offered by Gareth Patterson:

http://www.garethpatterson.com/

G.P. has a wealth of knowledge regarding lions - he helped George Adamson with his lions in Kora/Kenya (http://images.google.de/images?hl=de...ed=0CCMQsAQwAw) and set the last 3 free in the Tuli Block/Botswana. He is a very inspiring personality.

Regrettably your travel month doesn't support a whale tour as they are around between June and Sep/Oct. So I would have suggested rather 2 nights in Plettenberg - a very nice hotel: http://www.plettenberg.com/ and doing whale tours.

Also a very nice town:
http://images.google.de/images?hl=de...ed=0CBgQsAQwAw

Happy plannning

SV ((@))

I grew up in the middle of the Garden Route and my family still lives there so I visit there a lot.

Knysna is a bit of a tourist-trap. It is easy to visit there during your stay at Plett, or while passing through. But no need to overnight in Knysna.

Oudtshoorn needs two nights because it has great restaurants and several wonderful areas to visit - Swartberg Pass, Prince Albert, Ostrich Farms, Cango Caves, and more. You like scenic drives and Swartberg is a must then!

After Plett and a stop for lunch and prolonged sightseeing in Knysna you will arrive in Oudtshoorn in the late afternoon perhaps in time to visit an ostrich farm. Then dinner - always a highlight!

The next morning drive via Meiringspoort to Prince Albert for lunch. Then enter the Swartberg with the afternoon sun behind you and visit Cango (you can make the last group tour) on your way back to to Oudtshoorn. Do not rush this day. Try another restaurant this night!

In the way to Franschoek I prefer to stay in Robertson rather than Montagu because of the wineries and the Robertson Small Hotel - a great hotel owned by Reuben (of Reubens in Franschoek)