Garden Route Observations: Tsitsikamma National Park, South Africa
Tsitsikamma National Park
The Garden Route of South Africa is one of the most beautiful places I have seen in all my travels. I walked the beaches of Hawaii, climbed a mountain in Colorado, and hiked various forests in the U.S. –  yet the “heart ” of the Garden Route, Tsitsikamma National Park, contains all three in one place!
BG and I had some incredible adventures at Tsitsikamma – more of that later! But I will describe a bit of what it is like to be there…
As you enter the park you wind around the mountain and valleys that are covered by the deep forest. I understand the Knysna Lourie can be found there (an incredible bird – click here for a picture). We saw it at a game reserve and up close at Birds of Eden at Plettenberg Bay.
We continued down the two lane road around many curves until suddenly the ocean unfolded in front of us – spectacular!  The “beach” is composed of rocks and boulders – no surfing or beach combing here. Instead you can hike along rock base trails surrounded by mountains on your right, the crashing ocean on your left, and a canopy of trees around all sides. The scent of the forest and sounds of the pounding surf fill the air…
As usual, I had my trusty Rebel XTi and was distracted by the many possible photo ops. I was convinced I saw a whale spout (Right Whales are common along the Garden Route). I snapped frame after frame – thank heavens for digital cameras – and was excited about looking at the results. However, when we got back to the States I enlarged the images and had 25 pictures of a rock way out in the ocean. BG enjoyed that one…
 You can camp in a comfortable cabin overlooking the ocean. We have not done that (yet!), but it is a wonderful place for a day hike and sack lunch next to the surf or deep within the forest – which is exactly what we did!Â
This is a “must see” place when you go to South Africa - more to come on this spectacular place!
What do you think? Click on the title above to make a comment  (Garden Route Observations: Tsitsikamma National Park, South Africa)…
Raymond Pechacek lives in the U.S. and is married to a wonderful South African lady (BG!). He writes about the people, customs, wildlife, and places of South Africa, runs a consulting firm to help companies improve their global trade processes, and imports products into the U.S. - with an emphasis on supporting South Africa!
September 11, 2009
Tags: Birds of Eden, Knysna laurie, Plettenberg Bay, Right Whales, Tsitsikamma National Park Posted in: .First Time Here? Some Good Posts To Read, Geography, Places You Must See, Wildlife
Pat on 
Alicia on 
One Response
I think “Laurie” is actually spelt “Lorie” though