Garden Route (Tsitsikamma, Knysna, Wilderness) National Park

The Garden Route National Park includes the Tsitsikamma, Wilderness and Knysna Lake sections. It protects a variety of mountain catchment, marine, Southern Cape indigenous forest and associated Fynbos areas. The Tsitsikamma area was Africa's first proclaimed Marine National Park.

The series of lakes connected by the Touw River (Eilandvlei, Langvlei and Rondevlei) host a variety of aquatic bird species and is an internationally proclaimed Ramsar site.

From elephants to whales, the varied eco-systems are home to an incredible number of animal species. Bushpig, leopard, Cape wildcat, grey rhebuck, grysbok, genet, Cape clawless otter and several species of whale and dolphin can be found in the park.

Five things to see and do

• Book a Trail - from the challenging 5-day Otter Trail to several shorter trails, this park is foot-friendly. Book well in advance! Several day walks are also on offer
• Take a picnic - several gorgeous sites, such as the Kranshoek cliff-top viewpoint
• Visit the Forest Legends Museum - discover the forgotten stories of the hardworking woodcutters, the Knysna Elephant and other forest secrets
• Walk the Boardwalk- take a 10-minute walk through the indigenous forest boardwalk, marvel at the giant trees thought to be between 600 to 800 years old and 36.6 meters high
• Go mountain biking - several mountainbike tracks that take riders through a variety of landscapes.

Activities:

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