BEST 5 REASONS TO VISIT GARDEN ROUTE PARK

The Best 5 Reasons To Visit Garden Route Park In South Africa

The best 5 reasons to visit garden route route park in South Africa include; the breathtaking scenery, memorable hikes, the worlds highest bridge bungee jump, bird watching, monkey Land primate sanctuary.

Garden route national park is located along the south coast of South Africa, These beautiful stretches  cover about 1210 square kilometer however 685 square kilometers of this park was already part of some national parks which existed before the formation of garden route park and they are reserved and known for its indigenous forests, dramatic coast line and the Otter trail.

The landscape at Garden route national park also consists of the amazing  rocky coasts which form the dramatic boarder together with the ocean, Shore trails which snake up the sand dunes, lakes and forests.

The national park was established on 6 march 2009 by combining the already existing Tsitsikamma and wilderness national parks, the Knysna national area and other lands owned by the state

The Tsitsikamma section which is located along the stretches of the coastline with natures valley at the western end of the park is one of the already existing national parks which where amalgamated to form Garden route national park covers about 80 km, The wilderness section is located around the seaside.

The best 5 reasons to visit Garden route national park include;

1. The breathtaking scenery of Garden Route Park

Garden route national park has a number of prominate landscape features which literally leaves the visitor in awe after seeing them for him/her self, breathtaking scenery places include The Tsitsikamma which is one of the places that where combined together to form the breathtaking Garden route national park section which has the nature’s valley which is mostly known for it’s indigenous forests, the dramatic coastline and the Otter trail.

The Knysna Estuary and its importance has been emphasized in several studies with it ranking number 3 in south Africa’s estuaries in terms of botanical importance and many other importance, The wilderness  section which stretches from Touw river mouth to the Swarvlei estuary and beyond, it links with the Goukamma nature reserve giving protection to 5 lakes and the serpentine which winds up the strips of water joining the island lake.

The landscape at Garden route national park also consists of the amazing  rocky coasts which form the dramatic boarder together with the ocean, Shore trails which snake up the sand dunes, lakes and forests.

2. Memorable hikes at Garden Route Park

Garden route national park is one of the places in South Africa with the best hike trails, it has about 82 trails and they include Karoo to coast, Storm river mouth trail, half callared kingfisher trail rated as the best trail in the park, Salt river mouth rail, Otter trail, Kalanderkloof route, Red elephant trail, the blue duiker trail, Ebb and flow waterfall trail, Formosa peak trail, Drupkerlders hiking trail among others, all these hiking trails can make a visitor think that they are taking a route to heaven because of the magnificent beauty surrounding them.

3.The worlds highest bridge bungee jump at Garden Route Park

The world’s highest commercial bridge bungee jump is carried out on the Bloukrans Bridge which is located near the nature’s valley in western cape of South Africa and it was constructed Between 1980 and 1983 by Concor and its total length is 451m

4.Bird watching at Garden Route Park

Garden route national park is a very good place for birders as it has a number of birds residing there and in some months migrants birds also join making it very favorable place to visit, it is where the world’s largest free flight and bird sanctuary called Birds of Eden is located .

Being one of the four sanctuaries under the South African Animal sanctuary Birds of Eden was honored with four major tourism awards in 2014 and it has about 3500 bird species  and they include Red-knobbed Coot, little Grebe, Cape shoveler, Yellow-billed Duck and Reed Cormorant. Wading and shorebirds are frequently viewed.

5. Monkey Land primate sanctuary at Garden Route Park

It is a free monkey roaming land where multi species are found and it was founded by Tony Blignaut it also covers about 12 hectares with about 9 monkey species with a total of 550 and it is also one of the four sanctuaries which are managed by the South African Animal sanctuary (SAASA)

When to visit Garden route national park

Garden Route national park is a year round tourist destination. but one should avoid making a trip around Christmas time because the park is crowded because of school holiday and January and February can also be unbearable for people who struggle in high-temperatures.

The best time to visit the park for a crowd-free experience is between February and April. For whale watching, July to September is the best time to visit the park.

How to access Garden route national park

Directions for the Tsitsikamma Area

The Tsitsikamma Section is located about 68km from Plettenberg Bay,195km from Port Elizabeth and 615km from Cape Town.

For the case of international visitors they can access the park through airports which are found in George and Port Elizabeth.

Directions for the Wilderness Area

The Wilderness Section is located close to the N2 highway which is 15km from George, 2km from Wilderness village, 410km from Port Elizabeth and 450km from Cape Town. The closest airport is at George, where car hire facilities are available.

Guests visiting Wilderness Ebb & Flow camp, please note the road sign on the N2 to the Park reads “Wilderness National Park” Guests can also use the western access through the town of Wilderness across the rail road bridge and turn right for the reception.

Directions for the Knysna Area

The Knysna Lakes Section lies on the scenic Garden Route and it is about 300km from Port Elizabeth and 500km from Cape Town

Accommodation at Garden route park

Garden route national park have a range of accommodation options from Bed and Breakfasts to campgrounds and luxury lodges and they include