Cape and Garden Route

Hike & Discover

An unforgettable 14 day hiking and sightseeing tour, covering the major attractions of Cape Town, Table Mountain, the Cape Peninsula, the Stellenbosch wine district and the Garden Route.

Cape Town | Cape Peninsula | Table Mountain National Park | Cape Point | Franschhoek | Stellenbosch | Garden Route | Tsitsikamma: Tour Code CWGHD14

 

Cape Town, Table Mountain, the Stellenbosch Winelands and the Garden Route have some of the most magnificent scenery in the world – it is ideal hiking country experience by many South African enthusiasts on a daily basis. This is a tour designed for keen hikers who want to experience the nature of region, but also includes leisure time in each area with a chance to relax or choose alternative activities. It includes all the classic attractions that most visitors want to see, with the added benefit of getting closer to the natural attractions of the area. Renown as the smallest, but most diverse of the floral kingdoms of the world you will get to see the amazing diversity of this region and the pristine Tsitsikamma Forest and Coastal Reserve, where three days are spent on the Dolphin Trail. The guides are all knowledgeable in their fields and at the same time there is opportunity to taste the wines for which the Western Cape is famous, the seafood that is among the best in the world and to savour some of the local cuisine that has drawn accolades from international chefs. The walking requires a reasonable degree of fitness, with short sections of strenuous uphill, but with plenty of recovery time.

Cape and Garden Route Hike & Discover
Day Primary Destination Highlights
Day 1 Cape Town Arrival and transfer to your hotel near the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. Orientation meeting with your host / guide. The rest of the day at leisure for shopping and orientation. Your host on hand to assist where necessary. Evening – group briefing and hosted African themed dinner.
Day 2 Table Mountain Start, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, hike up to the Back Table of the Mountain. Walk the Smuts Track with views over the Southern Suburbs, to the Maclears Beacon, the highest point of the Mountain and then on to the Cable Station. Hike down Platteklip Gorge. Transfer from hike end to hotel. Transfer to dinner on historic wine farm.
Day 3 Cape Peninsula Travel to Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve via the scenic Chapmans Peak Drive & Boulders Penguins Colony . Visit Cape Point and follow a two hour circular hiking trail in the Reserve. Dinner own choice.
Day 4 Cape Town Day at leisure or optional tours. Dinner own choice.
Day 5 Cape Winelands Transfer to Stellenbosch, Delvera Wine Estate for a 3 – 4 hour walk through vineyards & three different natural vegetation types to Klamutskop. Lunch, wine tasting & cellar tour at Stellenbosch wine farm. Overnight in Franschhoek – dinner at a local award winning restaurant.
Day 6 Cape Winelands Scenic drive and hike in the Mount Rochelle Nature Reserve. Return to Franschhoek & Solms-Delta for lunch, archeological tour and wine tasting. The remainder of the afternoon at leisure in Franschhoek. Evening farewell barbeque dinner. Overnight in Franschhoek.
Day 7 Mossel Bay Beach walk and seafood dinner
Day 8 Mossel Bay / Knysna Day walk Mossel Bay to Pinnacle Point and tour of archeological dig. Transfer to Knysna – short orientation tour of the town and stroll around Knysna Heads. Sundowners on the lagoon. Dinner in homely local restaurant.
Day 9 Knysna Full days hike on the scenic Robberg Peninsula, with scenic views in both directions; Interesting geological formations and archeoligical site; the sound and site of seal colonies below. Barbeque dinner
Day 10 Knysna / Dolphin Trail Morning at leisure. Transfer to Tsitsikamma National Park, stopping en-route for a short walk in forest to visit the ‘Big Tree’ 1000 year old yellowwood. Check in to accommodation at Storms River. Pre-trail briefing. Dinner in the camp restaurant.
Day 11 Dolphin Trail Meet your guide after breakfast for the start of the walk across the Storms River Mouth suspension bridge. A steep hike up to the view point above is followed by cliff path and forest before descending to the coast and back up through forest to overnight accommodation at Misty Mountain Manor.
Day 12 Dolphin Trail The next day starts with a walk down through the forest to the coast with much of the days walk along the rocky shoreline and steep ascent through the forest to the pine plantations with cultivated fern growth beneath. The day ends at accommodation at The Fernery, where you will be hosted to a superb dinner.
Day 13 Dolphin Trail / Knysna After breakfast there is a 4×4 ride down the old Storms River pass, back to Tsitsikamma National Park. Transfer back either to Knysna or Port Elizabeth depending on flight details. No tours arranged – any free time at leisure. Farewell dinner.
Day 14 George / Port Elizabeth Departure