Knysna & Plettenberg Bay

The eastern Garden Route: Knysna's lagoon and Heads, Robberg Peninsula's seals, and Tsitsikamma's Storms River Mouth suspension bridge and bungee jump from the world's highest commercial bridge.

Knysna & Plettenberg Bay is the core of the eastern Garden Route in South Africa, on the southeast coast of the Western Cape. Stretching about 130 km along the N2 from Sedgefield in the west to Tsitsikamma at the Eastern Cape border, it is famous for the lagoon guarded by two sandstone headlands, oysters and indigenous forest in Knysna; Plettenberg Bay is a long golden beach and a whale-watching destination, and The Crags to the east is home to wildlife sanctuaries such as Monkeyland, Birds of Eden and an elephant sanctuary. Farther east in Tsitsikamma are the Storms River Mouth suspension bridge, canopy zip lines and the 216 m Bloukrans Bridge bungee jump. The climate is mild and the area can be visited year-round: December–February is beach season, but crowded and expensive; June–November is for watching southern right and humpback whales; July brings the Knysna Oyster Festival, and winter has occasional rain. Getting there: from Cape Town it is about 6 hours by car, or fly into George Airport (about 60 km from Knysna) and rent a car; sights are spread out, so you basically need to drive. Stay in Knysna or Plettenberg Bay for 3–4 days: one day for the lagoon and Heads, one for Plettenberg Bay and Robberg Peninsula, one for Tsitsikamma and the bungee jump, plus one day for the wildlife parks and a forest hike. National parks and CapeNature reserves charge conservation fees, and prices are adjusted each year.

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