Activities
Situated in the middle of the Garden Route, Knysna is well positioned for a planned stop on an extended holiday which may include a host of experiences making up a "holiday of a lifetime". The Garden Route is an area of outstanding natural beauty on a 300-kilometre stretch of the south-western coast of South Africa, extending from Mossel Bay in the Western Cape to the Storms River in the Eastern Cape. The name comes from the verdant and ecologically diverse vegetation encountered here and the numerous lagoons and lakes dotted along the coast. The coast is famous for whale spotting, shark diving and game viewing. Sandwiched between the Indian Ocean and the Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma Mountains, a great diversity of flora and fauna including Cape Fynbos and Temperate Forest make hiking a richly rewarding activity. On your doorstep, the Knysna Lagoon is the second biggest wetland in Southern Africa and home to over 300 species of bird life, to satisfy ardent twitchers and nature lovers. In fact, ten nature reserves embrace the varied ecosystems of the area as well as unique marine reserves, home to soft coral reefs, dolphins, seals and a host of other marine life. Various bays along the Garden Route are nurseries to the endangered Southern Right Whale which go there to calve in the winter and spring (July to December).
One of the safest places to holiday in Africa, Thesen Islands gives children of all ages the freedom to play on local beaches, use the golf putting course, play areas, squash, tennis, cricket and beach volley ball pitches, to their hearts content.
