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All the towns below are within a
day's drive from Brunis
Click map for area-specific
information
Oudtshoorn · Mossel Bay
· George · Wilderness · Knysna · Plettenberg Bay · Tsitsikamma
Oudtshoorn
Oudtshoorn, the centre of the ostrich
industry and the world's feather capital, is the Small Karoo's leading town. Feather
palaces, large mansions built during the ostrich feather boom, form part of the area's
architectural heritage. Ostrich and Game ranches offer plentiful opportunities for
interaction with Africa's wild creatures. |
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The remarkable Cango Caves, a series of
magnificent, glittering limestone caverns fashioned over millennia beneath the foothills
of the Swartberg Range, are some 26 km from Oudtshoorn. Bearing evidence of early San
habitation, the subterranean, thirty-cave wonderland boasts some of the world's most
stunning dripstone formations. |
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Mossel Bay |
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| This historical town owes its existence to
Bartolomeu Dias who first beached his caravel here in 1488. Famed for the renowned
Bartholomeu Dias Museum Complex, with the massive old milkwood tree beneath which the
early explorers left their letters and messages (the first post office in South Africa!),
it also boasts an abundance of marine life including whales, dolphins and the resident
seal colony. |
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George
George, nestling below the magnificent Outeniqua Mountains
is the sixth oldest town in South Africa. The area consists of a remarkable blending of
mountains, rivers, indigenous and cultivated forests, colourful shrubs and wild flowers,
glorious beaches and rich farmlands. It is also home to the nostalgic Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe
steam strain, a crocodile park and a host of scenic walks, birdwatching spots and picnic
and braai facilities. |
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Knysna
Nestling on the banks of a
shimmering lagoon in the heart of the Garden Route, Knysna's beaches, lakes, mountains and
rivers provide endless opportunity for leisure and outdoor adventure. |
| Knysna is synonymous with fine indigenous
timbers, and famed for the craftsmanship of its furniture and timber products. The area is
a veritable Garden of Eden: home to the only forest elephant in South Africa, the unique
Knysna seahorse and the Pansy shell, the brilliantly coloured Knysna Loerie, a plethora of
waterfowl and forest birds, dolphins and visiting whales. The indigenous forests constitute the largest complex
of closed-canopy forest in southern Africa, whilst the remarkable richness of the Fynbos
vegetation contributes over 8000 plant species to the Cape floral kingdom. |
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Plettenberg Bay
The golden beaches of Plettenberg Bay attract more
than just the jet set - the area is famous for its abundance of marine, bird and plant
life to be found in the various nature reserves that surround the town.
Robberg Nature Reserve is
the largest of these reserves within 10 minutes drive of the town center. Plettenberg Bay
also offers hiking and cycling trails into the forest, hikes along the coast, and through
many of the nature reserves around the town. The Otter Trail starts close by. This
is a 4 day trail along the coastline starting in the Tsitsikamma Nature Reserve. There are
other overnight trails available to the keen or amateur hiker. |
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TsitsikammaTsitsikamma, bordering on the Garden Route of the
Western Cape Province, is an area of splendid natural forests. Its name is derived
from the Kho-Khoi expression for 'a place of abundant water', and no name could be more
apt for this area. |
| The word effortlessly evokes meaning and
beauty, entirely appropriate to this large area of rocky shores, ravines, sheer cliffs,
ancient trees, dense undergrowth, a richness of verdant plant life, the din of insect life
and the distant sounds of water falling in almost imperceptible screams over craggy edges,
gurgling, flowing into and out itself, to the Indian Ocean below and beyond. |
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