Garden Route Treasures on a Budget!
The Garden Route, stretching 300-kilometres on the south-western coast of South Africa is a must see when visiting South Africa.
While many tourists flock to popular Cape Town and wander all the way to Port-Elizabeth, many often skip Plettenberg Bay and Kynsna.
In October, we decided to take advantage of Kulula's flight specials and head to Plett & Knysna for an unforgettable 6-day-birthday-getaway on a small budget -nearly impossible in this region!
Day 1: Off to Plett we go!
As with all discounted flights comes the dreaded early boarding time. With that said we departed from O.R Tambo International at 7 am- giving us ample of time to arrive in George, pick-up the hired cars (a necessity when doing this part of the Garden Route) and then had a quick brunch!
Our time in George was short-lived as we then headed to Plett and checked into our beautiful Airbnb home. If you’re looking for good places on a budget for big groups, Plett & Airbnb will definitely give you value for money! The rest of the day was filled with grocery shopping, a beach visit and not much exploring!
I’d say we were saving ourselves for the rest of the trip.
Day 2: Birthday Adventures!
With a limited budget and unlimited yearning for adventure we began my sister's birthday with a beautiful sunrise at the Beach. Here, we had a great view of Robberg and a beautiful start to our day for free!!
Later we headed to Plett Puzzle Park, where, for a mere R95, we attempted their forest puzzle walk - a path of approximately 350 meters which meanders through natural forest and fynbos- with nine “interactive puzzles”, with time limits, to be solved along the way. This challenge was way more difficult than we expected- almost impossible for children!
We then headed to lunch and a wine tasting at Newstead - one of 16 small wine farms that form part of the Plett Winelands: a small, exciting and scenic wine region.
Day 3: A day in Tsitsikamma National Park!
Tsitsikamma, declared as one of the largest marine reserves made up of 80 kilometres of coastline, is situated between the Eastern Cape and Western Cape in the heart of Garden Route. Only one hour away from Plettenberg, it is the best place to explore deep gorges and local vegetation like the Big Tree and hike The Mouth Trail which crosses the Instagram worthy suspension bridge over Storms River. It is worth the small entrance fee and can fill your entire day with adventure!
Day 4: To Knysna we go!
Checked out of our home in Plett and headed for a grey and rainy morning walk on the Beach where we contemplated our plans for the cold and wet day.
We then decided to brave the weather and head to Robberg Nature Reserve, situated just 8 km south of Plettenberg Bay. Robberg is not only a nature reserve, but also a national monument and World Heritage Site that houses rocks that date back 120 million years ago.
After a short and cold hike we headed to Knysna, checked in to our Airbnb home and took a sunset scroll on Brent-on-sea.
Day 5: A Rainy Day!
Another cold day filled with rain couldn't stop us! We headed for a short stroll and lunch at the Waterfront (quaint but cannot be compared to Cape Town’s Waterfront). We then took a drive through Knysna, nothing spectacular but gave a good perspective of the damage caused by the recent Knysna fires that devastated the area.
Lastly we headed to Buffalo Bay Beach were we saw a beautiful sunset- reminding us that even on rainy days the sun will set!
Day 6: Goodbye Plett & Knysna!
We checked out of our Knysna home and with our hearts still yearning for adventure we took a pit stop in Wilderness, just 10 mins East of Plett, before heading to the airport. We, thanks to Eden Adventures, kayaked up the beautiful Keurbooms River- a great time to make the most of the last few hours and to just be quiet and reflect.
We then drove to the airport, said goodbye to rainy and cold George and headed to warm and sunny Johannesburg.
Although our time in Plett and Knysna was rather cold and rainy, we left with our hearts filled with warm memories and fun.
Side note: It might be a bit strange to you (as it was to me) that you will notice that there are hardly any black people, or those of colour in this region, besides those working behind a till in the shops and restaurants. This is a sad reminder that this region is still financially unreachable to many!
Although we tried to find the best deals and specials it was still not the cheapest South African travel I have made. I hope that I can one day do something about that but until then, I'm hoping that with this post, many will appreciate every travel and that others may be encouraged to to do some saving, deal searching and planning so that, they too, can have a wonderful adventure on a budget!
