Stretching from Western Cape to Eastern Cape along one of the world’s most dramatic coastlines, this is far from the world of gardens that many imagine. Think Chelsea Flower Show. On steroids. You can hop from the chi chi beach garden of Port Elizabeth to the wild garden of Addo Elephant National Park, home to the Big Five. Making that one grandiose garden. For the eco garden, Tsitsikamma National Park protects an eclectic mix of gorges, waterfalls and rugged coastline, with a natural playground for canopy tours, river tubing and other outdoor adventures. In total contrast, the semi-arid garden that is Klein Karoo has a sparse, wild feel. But for many, it is the produce garden that wins the gold medal, with prolific grape growers nurturing the mountain gardens of the Drakenstein and Hottentots Holland ranges for fine wines. As you will see from our Garden Route travel guide, this is no common or garden region of South Africa.

Choose a self drive holiday or a small group tour along the Garden Route, but however you travel along this 1,000km sublime coast, stretching between Mossel Bay in the Western Cape to Storms River in the Eastern, you will have some incredible experiences – from the grand old southern right whales off the coast of Hermanus which you can see from land between July and November, to the Big Five and, in particular the elephants of Addo Elephant National Park. Swap coast for mountains easily, taking in the
coastal resorts of Mossel Bay, Knysna and Plettenberg Bay, and
then heading into the more elevated Winelands or Table
Mountain itself, from where you can take in the Cape in all
its glory.