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A lake on the Garden Route |
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Climate |
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The Garden Route has a maritime climate, with moderately hot summers, and mild to chilly winters. It is one of the nicest all-year-round rainfall areas in South Africa, most rain falling in the winter months, brought by the humid sea-winds from the Indian Ocean rising and releasing their precipitation along the high mountain ranges just inland of the coast. |
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History |
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- The Garden Route was inhabited by the Khoisan people from the Stone Age. In the 17th century they were being displaced by Dutch settlers.
- A local river in the region was named “Knysna” after the Hottentots to the Europeans. Scholars offer several translations of the Hottentot term - place of wood, fern leaves, or simply straight down, referring to the steep sandstone cliffs, called The Heads.
- Knysna's rich and colourful history spans the days of sailing ships, timber extraction and even a brief period of gold discovery. The vast, indigenous forests just outside Knysna became an invaluable source of timber for buildings, ships and wagons. The town's streets and quaint, old buildings show its commercial past, while the rocky coast and deep, silent forests reflect the history of men with bows and arrows, ancient hunters, gatherers and nomads.
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About |
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The Garden Route is a popular and scenic stretch of the south-eastern coast of South Africa. It stretches from Mossel Bay in the Western Cape to the Storms River which is crossed along the N2 coastal highway over the Paul Sauer Bridge in the extreme eastern reach of the Western Cape. The name comes from the shrubbery near the coast. It includes towns such as Mossel Bay, George, Knysna, Oudtshoorn, Plettenberg Bay and Nature's Valley. |
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Vinyard during Winter |
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Attractions |
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- The Route is sandwiched between the Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma mountains and the Indian Ocean. The Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma indigenous forests are a unique mixture of Cape Fynbos and temperate forest and offer hiking trails and eco-tourism activities. Nearly 300 species of birdlife are to be found in a variety of habitats ranging from fynbos to forest to wetlands.
- 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 come there to calve in the winter and spring (July to December).
- Although the most popular exploration of the Garden Route is by car, it is also the site of Africa's last remaining passenger steam train, the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe.
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A view of Knysna |
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