How to get there: fly into Cape Town. I flew with Air Zimbabwe, flying from London to Harare and then to Cape Town. South African Airways, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have direct flights from London. Take the scenic N2 which travels right through the Garden Route. Secondary roads (tarred) are also of excellent standard.
Mode of Transport: Britz Campervan Rental and Tours which saves on hotel costs and offers freedom to drive anywhere. Prices from £40-£90 a day (minimum seven days) depending on vehicle type. Capacity up to five people.
Caravan sites: feature in every town on the route Cost between £40-£170.
Holiday period: recommended 10 to 14 days.
Ideal time of Year: September to April. Whale season is June to November. Avoid mid-December to mid-January as school holidays mean busy roads.
Food: wide range of seafood – prawns, oysters, mussels, sole, kingclip. Or the traditional South African barbecue, called a braai.
HERMANUS is the Prince of Whales. Or so the good folk of this old South African fishing village tell me. They are the guardians of a tradition which says this is the place that most attracts the giants of the sea.
However, on a 500-mile stretch of coastline both sides of the Cape there are many towns and villages that want to wear the crown. And one area that would love to take on the mantle is the picturesque Garden Route in the Western Cape – a harmony of ocean and mountains, hiking and riding trails, great white shark diving and unlimited water sports. Plus some of the best lodges and inns in the country.
What better way to explore this magnificent route than by campervan. We launched ouselves from Cape Town airport with our first stop in Hermanus and, cheating a little, stayed at the Whale Cottage, a charming whitewashed residence decorated with whale motifs and under the management of Barry Lewis who has the flair and humour of Norman Wisdom.
The purpose of the visit was to talk about the colossus of the deep – weighing in at about 10 elephants – and, although it was not whale season, we did little else.
They are pure magic, Barry says, especially when you have eye to eye contact with them from about 10 metres offshore. Launched as a pioneering project five years ago, South Africa now claims to have the best land-based whale-watching route in the world with every cliff and cove a lookout point.
Our campervan was an elegant mobile home equipped with stove, fridge, shower and toilet . We soon began to examine the archipelago of caravan sites in the area that attract people who love the outdoor life. Seasoned travellers told me they were inheriting the tradition of the ox-wagons from the days of the Great Trek.
It is a short step from the whale to the ostrich, the largest flightless bird that makes Mike Tyson look positively gentle. In Oudtshoorn, there are a number of safari farms that will enable you to ride them, dine on them – yes, ostrich steaks – dress in their finery (a feature being the feather palaces of a century ago) and try not to upset them, lest they mow you down at 50 mph. They are bred for everything, from the magnificent carnival boas to the humble feather duster, and nothing is wasted, according to Alex Hooper of Highgate Ostrich Farm.
On the coast again, at Mossel Bay, all the history of the sea comes alive in a maritime museum that features a replica of the caravel that brought the Portuguese explorer, Barthomeu Dias, to the region in search of a freshwater source.
The story has it that he left a message in a shoe tied to a milkwood tree for the next navigator – and launched the first South African postal system. On this site now there is an excellent inn called the Old Post Office Tree Manor whose seafood is legendary.
The mixture of a luxurious bed in a lodge and enjoying the company of caravanners was proving irresistible. We stayed at caravan sites in the historic town of Swellendam and the Indian Ocean resort of Stillbai – sometimes known as the Sleeping Beauty – and then went on to stay at a rose farm in Wilderness called Hildesheim.
Traditional hospitality and 16,000 rose bushes left us with a sweet smell as we journeyed onward.
From here we launched into a famous little train ride called the Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe, over one of the most attractive coastal rail routes in the world from George to Knysna – only to be rivalled a little later by an upmarket, six-day steam-train journey by the Union Limited Golden Thread which offers splendid luxury cloaked in history, a vintage steam safari throughout the Garden Route from Cape Town.
You can get awfully poetic about the Garden Route – waves smashing against jutting rocks, golden beaches, forest walks and mountain passes, fishermen’s cottages and old harbour towns.
The Knysna has an excellent caravan site just outside Lake Brenton and further along the highway N2 is a favourite haunt of mine called Plettenberg Bay, a place of great natural beauty where I once stayed for four months in a seaside cottage.
All the memories flooded back as this time round I enjoyed the superior hospitality of the Castleton Suites with superb views of the bay and the Robberg mountains and schools of dolphins. You are never far from the marine life on the Garden Route.
Garden Route tours
Sunvil Holidays:features tailor-made flydrive itineraries. The 12-night Bontebok itinerary starts with three nights in Cape Town followed by a tour of small, character guesthouses along the Garden Route with prices from £1,392.
Wild Africa Safaris:the Surrey-based specialist offers a choice of six properties along the Garden Route, ranging from a mountain inn to the Fancourt Hotel and Country Club with its luxurious golf course. An 11-night Garden Route and Cape Town itinerary costs from £1,648.
Elite Vacations: the operator has divided its 14-day Discovery tour by private minibus or car into three segments allowing clients to book shorter itineraries en route between Cape Town and Johannes burg. Prices for the seven-night Garden Route sector are from £1,759.
Cox and Kings: a nine-day Taste of South Africa tour featuring Cape Town, the winelands and the Garden Route costs from £995 per person.