Garden Route National Park

Garden Route National Park is less a single destination than the protected bits of a famous road trip. It was created in March 2009 by merging the old Tsitsikamma and Wilderness national parks with the Knysna National Lake Area and surrounding state forest, about 1,210 square kilometres in all, half of it indigenous forest. People come for yellowwood forest, lakes, a wild rocky coast and some of the best day walks in the country.

Getting there

Everything hangs off the N2. George airport is the practical gateway; Wilderness is just east of George, Knysna is the next town along, and the Tsitsikamma entrance at Storms River Mouth is around 130 km from the airport. From Gqeberha it is about three hours to Storms River, from Cape Town about six. The Tsitsikamma turn-off is 5 km west of Storms River village.

When to go

This is the one part of South Africa where it rains all year, roughly 945 mm at Storms River, so there is no dry season to aim for. Summer (December to February) is warm and busy, winter cool and quieter. The forest is at its best right after rain anyway. Bring a waterproof whatever the month.

What to do

In the Tsitsikamma section the camp at Storms River Mouth is the draw. The 1 km Mouth Trail leads to the suspension bridge over the river; the Waterfall Trail follows the first 2.65 km of the Otter Trail over the rocks and is a stiff round trip. The Otter Trail itself is 42 km over five days with huts, and books out far ahead. The 216 m Bloukrans bungee is just down the road.

Wilderness is about water. The Touw River links a chain of lakes (Eilandvlei, Langvlei, Rondevlei) that are a Ramsar wetland, and the Ebb and Flow rest camp sits on the river. The Half-collared Kingfisher Trail, about 7 km return and three to four hours, crosses the Touw by pontoon or stepping stones and ends at a waterfall with swimming pools. It was shut by storm damage and reopened in July 2026, so check it is open.

The Knysna section is forest. The Elephant Walk at Diepwalle offers loops of 6 to 9 km with a permit from the forest office; the King Edward VII big tree nearby stands 39 m tall. Garden of Eden on the N2 is a 1 km boardwalk anyone can manage. Kranshoek is a 9 km cliff-and-beach loop near Harkerville, and the Harkerville coastal trail runs 24 km over two days.

Good to know

Knysna’s forest elephants are famous, but researchers are still trying to count them from their dung, so do not go expecting to see one. Permits for day walks are bought at the relevant forest station or camp office. Accommodation at Storms River Mouth and Ebb and Flow fills up in school holidays.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, Wikipedia, Wikipedia, Wikivoyage, Wikivoyage, Garden Route Adventure Guide, George Herald, Roxanne Reid.