"Cape Town ~ Beautiful Coastal City " a Cape Town Travel Page by longsanborn

I was in Cape Town from 15 - 25 June 2007.

I didn't just stay in the city. I also explored the surrounding area including the Cape Peninsular, Table Mountain, and the famous and undeniably beautiful Garden Route.

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Knysna Lagoon

Garden Route Safari Tour from CT to PE

We went on our Garden Route Safari Tour from Cape Town (CT) to Port Elizabeth (PE) from 18 to 22 June 2007. It was one of the best and most wonderful and awesome holidays I've ever experienced.

On this Garden Route tour, South Africa's breathtaking rustic mountainous beauty and verdant valleys were ours to enjoy. This landscape contrasts sharply with the tranquil arid conditions of the Klein Karoo. We travelled during the day through lush, green & beautiful valleys and rolling hills of the "heart of the Garden Route".

We visited an ostrich farm that has traded since the turn of the century. We adventured far into the inner chambers of the stunningly beautiful world-famous pre-historic Cango Caves, a totally unforgettable experience on this Garden Route tour.

We spent a day at one of the famous Game Reserves, Schotia Private Game Reserves - where we had the opportunity to see the big game (lions, water buffalos, rhino, elephants, etc.) in their natural habitat. En route to Port Elizabeth, we visited the Addo Elephant Park, proclaimed in 1931 to save the last survivors of the once numerous herds of Eastern Cape elephants that are now thought to be extinct in South Africa.

The Garden Route's Addo Elephant Park is the home to the densest population of elephants in the world who share 12 000 hectares of gently undulating valley bushveld with jackal, warthog, suricate, and a variety of antelopes as well as lion, kudu, hartebeest and bushbuck.

We also visited South Africa's own rainforest, the Tsitsikamma Forest, before continuing on to Plettenberg Bay and Storms River. We then made a lengthy stop-over in the quaint historical seaside village of Knysna; a community nestled between the fringes of the dark mountainous forest and the ocean. We enjoyed a sunset cruise while dining aboard a paddle steamer on the vast navigable lagoon that flushes into the sea through the famous Knysna Heads.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Klein Karoo - towns of Worcester, Robertson, Montagu, Calidzdorp and Willowmore
**Semi-arid landscapes, aloe ferox plants, orchards, farmlands and winelands
**Schotia Private Game Reserve - 4 X 4 Open vehicle game drive
**Addo Elephant Park - Closed own vehicle game drive
**Oudtshoorn - the Cango Caves and Ostrich Farm
**George town and Port Elizabeth town by the coasts
**Knysna village and the Knysna Lagoon - Dinner on the Sunset cruise aboard the Paddle Steamer on the Knysna Lagoon
**Plettenberg Bay (Storms river and Nature’s Valley)
**Tsitsikamma Forest (Garden of Eden and the Elephant Sanctuary)
**Swellendam and Mossel Bay towns by the coasts

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Animals in the Private Game Reserve

OUTLINE OF THE 5-DAY ITINERARY:

DAY ONE:
07h00 – Leave Cape Town / Travelled the whole morning via the towns of Worcester, Montagu & Calitzdorp to Oudtshoorn / Visited a well-known Ostrich farm and the Cango Caves in the afternoons / Dinner and overnight in Oudtshoorn in a beautiful Game Lodge located to a hippo waterhole.

DAY TWO:
Early start for a scenic drive to Schotia Private Game Reserve./ 07h30 – Leave Oudtshoorn; Breakfasted the food prepared by the Game Lodge in the mini-van / 15h00 – Game drive in an open vehicle in Schotia Private Game Reserve / 19h00 – Outdoor fire-camp style dinner at the Schotia Private Game Reserve/ Overnight at a hill-top 4-star hotel near the Addo Elephant Park

DAY THREE:
09h00 - Visited the ADDO ELEPHANT PARK / 13h00 - Travelled to Port Elizabeth for a short City orientation tour/ 14h00 - Travelled onwards to Knysna / 17h45 - Dinner on the Sunset Cruise aboard the Paddle Cruiser on the Knysna Lagoon/ 19h00 - Overnight in Knysna; stayed at Knysna 4-star Log-Cabin Hotel

DAY FOUR:
Explored Knysna/ Visited Garden of Eden and the Elephant Sanctuary where we got to touch & ride African elephants/ Visited Nature’s Valley, Storms River, Tsitsikamma Forest and Plettenberg Bay/ 19h00 – Dinner at one of the best seafood restaurant in Knysna (I had fresh oysters!) / Overnight in Knysna

DAY FIVE:
09h00 – Left Knysna/ Return to Cape Town via Mossel Bay & Swellendam towns/ 18h00 – Arrived in Cape Town