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There is so much to do in and around Knysna, most visitors who spend only two or three days in Knysna usually regret that they did not allow more time to discover the many wonders of the area.
Fishing & sailing on Knysna Lagoon are very popular. If Golf is your game there are a number of very good golf courses to choose from. For Nature and eco lovers there are hiking trails, bird, dolphin & whale watching. Knysna also boasts some of the best Adventure Activities.
For the more sedate there is always shopping and eating at the numerous shops and restaurants in Knysna and along the Garden Route.
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Knysna is situated in the heart of the Garden Route and is a very convenient base from which all the marvellous attractions can be visited.
BEACHES & LAGOON
Knysna stays offers photographers from around the world the unique oppurtunity to be guided to some of the most diverse scenic locations the garden route has to offer .
- BRENTON BEACH
Locals claim that one of the most wonderful beaches in the world lies right on the other side of the Knysna Western Heads, in Brenton-on-Sea. There are rocks to clamber on, little pools to cool off in and a long bay for beach walks and shell seeking. Hot Tip: walk to Buffels Bay, have lunch or an icecream, take a shower, and stroll back
- BOLLARD BAY
If you’re looking for a great family friendly beach to soak up the solar rays look no further than Knysna. Of all the Garden Route beaches, sandy Bollard Bay Beach on Leisure Isle is the perfect spot to chill with your tot. This safe swimming beach has no crashing dumpers and plenty of shallow water for little folk to splash around in. So settle down on your sandy spot and take in the magnificent views of Knysna Heads with no fear of your pipsqueak being swept off to Antartica.
And it's not just for small fry! The main beach on Leisure Island, Bollard Bay beach offers plenty to do for young and old. When the tide is high you can swim, fish, canoe or sail. At low tide, pump for prawns to use as bait or walk across the sand as far as The Heads.
GOLF
The variety of golf-courses in beautiful surroundings ensures that each day's play provides new and exciting challenges and unforgettable memories on some of South Africa's finest golf- courses.
The Garden Route is fast becoming the golfing Mecca of South Africa with 14 new golf-courses in the planning to final development stages. Big name designers like Ernie Els and Jack Nicklaus feature prominently in the design of these new courses.
NATURE
- FOREST WALKS
One of the most spectacular attractions in this area is the Knysna Forest. It is the largest indigenous forest in South Africa comprising of tall and ancient trees of local and exotic species, including stinkwood, yellowwood, blackwood, ironwood, white alders and Cape chestnut. Not forgetting the ferns, creepers and wild flowers which add colour to this endless green collage. The forest is vast and extremely dense in places making it impenetrable. Animal life is limited to a few small antelope and a large variety of birds, such as the famous Knysna Loerie.
- TSITSIKAMMA NATIONAL PARK
The Tsitsikamma National Park is situated at the heart of the picturesque tourist region known as the Garden Route, found in the Southern Cape of South Africa. Tsitsikamma is a Khoisan word meaning, "place of much water". The Park incorporates 80 km of rocky coastline with spectacular sea and landscapes, a remote mountainous region with secluded valleys covered in mountain Fynbos and temperate high forests with deep river gorges leading down to the sea.
The Tsitsikamma's spectacular scenery includes the Indian Ocean breakers, pounding rocky shores beneath 180 m high cliffs, ever-green forests and fynbos (proteas and heath) rolling down to the sea in a lush carpet where ancient rivers have carved their path to the ocean through rocky ravines. All this conspires to attract large numbers of international and local tourist to the Park.
ROBBERG NATURE RESERVE
Robberg Nature Reserve along with kilometres of glorious beaches, edges the "Bay Beautiful" - Plettenberg Bay. Robberg has it all - spectacular scenery, unimpeded vistas of ocean and shore, uniquely adapted vegetation, a thriving seal colony, caracal, grysbok, porcupine, rock hyrax sunbirds and seabirds and funny little lizards (agamas) who watch you quizzically wherever you sit. On top of all this are its other secrets - fossils of unimagined antiquity under one's feet (if you know where to look): caves where stone-age man hunted and fished, lived and died; stories of shipwrecks more dramatic than any fiction, and of fishing tales from times when shoals of great game fish surged past its flanks. Even the rock faces have tales to tell of giant inland seas, rising and falling mountain ranges and sea levels - the birth and death of rocky beaches and quiet lagoons.
Walk high above the water and view schools of dolphins, gamefish or shark as they pass by. From May to November the peninsula offers excellent land based whale watching when the Southern Right Whale comes into the shelter of the bay to mate and calve.
Take one of three guided walks - especially tailored to suit your personal interests and fitness level.
FESTIVALS & MARKETS
- OYSTER FESTIVAL
With 26 years of fun and games to celebrate this year, the ten-day annual Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival, one of the country's longest-running festivals, will boast a jam-packed programme of sport, entertainment and 200 000 oysters!
More than 100 exciting events ranging from super-popular sports events and adventure challenges to wine and whisky tastings and gala evenings, are expected to draw a crowd of some 65 000 people to the beautiful Garden Route town.
The festival's two main sporting events, the Pick n Pay Cape Times Knysna Forest Marathon and the Pick n Pay Weekend Argus Rotary Knysna Cycle Tour, will give participants the unique opportunity to run and cycle through the ancient indigenous forests that have made Knysna famous. And if marathons are not your style, there's a full programme of adventure and soft sports for the whole family to participate in, including paddling, golf, bowls, soccer, night biking and angling.
To live up to its name, the festival will present a variety of oyster-related events including the annual oyster-shucking (opening) competition, the ever-popular oyster eating competition and the Pick n Pay Oyster & Wine Mardi Gras - a fabulous evening of oysters and wine tasting.
www.oysterfestival.co.za
- GASTRONOMICA
There are great festivals all over the world... Gastronomica in Knysna is the only one ahead of the rest.
To share good talent, unique recipes, knowledge about raw food, inspiring community projects, beautiful product and fun people you encounter in this part of the world.
To stimulate a sustainable tourism industry in Knysna and the Garden Route by providing an exciting focus on Knysna's growing reputation as a forward thinking culinary and tourist centre in South Africa.
www.gastronomicakny.co.za
For more information about activities around Knysna, go to our Links page
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