Cape Winelands and the Garden Route - 5 Days

We leave Cape Town early and travel to the Cape's famed wine-lands region. Stellenbosch, center of the considerable wine industry, is one of the prettiest of all small towns in South Africa, while the wines, wild flowers and fruits of the valley are amongst the finest in the world. We visit some of the area's most elegant wine estates, touring their cellars, tasting their superb wines and enjoying leisurely strolls around their magnificent grounds and stately homes. Our first stop is the Historical Lanzerac Wine Estate. Here you will join a cellar tour and a wine tasting.

Our next stop is Franschhoek, home to the French Huguenots who in the 16th century brought the art of wine making to South Africa. Enjoy a wine tasting and lunch at one of the elegant estates in this picturesque valley

Our route takes us over the Franschhoek Pass to the Breede River Valley. The principle Wine Town is Robertson - home to wine festivals and wine, wine and more wine. Here we stop for yet another wine tasting.

Leaving the wine-lands, we head through the unique and scenically spectacular Klein Karoo Route 62 to arrive in Calitzdorp. Here we make a stop for lunch and a tasting of award winning wines.

We continue on to Oudtshoorn, the "ostrich capital" of the world, with great flocks of ostriches providing a spectacle to be seen nowhere else in the world. The ostrich is surely one of the world's most peculiar birds and here we experience a visit to fascinating Ostrich Show Farm.

We proceed to one of Africa's great wonders - the subterranean wonderland of the Cango Caves. The largely unexplored sequence of vast caverns are filled with amazing formations of glittering drip-stone.

We depart for the Garden Route via the scenic Montague Pass. En- route we stop at the Herold Wine Estate tucked away in the Outeniqua Mountains. Enjoy a lunch platter and a wine tasting.

Arriving in Knysna, we begin to explore this charming village with its myriad attractions for visitors. We visit the popular Knysna Quays with its many art and craft shops.

Today you will explore Plettenberg Bay and the Tsitsikamma region. Originally named Bahia Formosa (Beautiful Bay) by the first Portuguese explorers, Plettenberg Bay more than lives up to its name as you spend time in its environs. We will do some whale and dolphin spotting. In the winter months there will be plenty of whales to view close to the shore.

The coastal road we follow wends it's way along steep river gorges, over spectacular mountain passes and through dense indigenous forests and ferns. We visit the tiny settlement of Nature's Valley, one of the loveliest havens of tranquility along the Garden Route. Our exploration of this ancient forest leads through the tangle of trees, ferns and creepers to the undisputed monarch of the forest - gigantic Outeniqua Yellowood trees. Enjoy Lunch at a wine estate.

An optional tour of Monkeyland or the Birds of Eden or the Tenikwa Wildlife Sanctuary is available before departing back to Knysna

Enjoy an optional sunset cruise on the Knysna Lagoon. There are yachts and ferries or cruisers available

We head down towards George. Stop for an optional wine tasting en route at the Lakeside Lodge. After an opportunity to do some last minute shopping and enjoy lunch at the Mall. We drop off our guests in the early afternoon at George Airport for your onward flight or road transfer.