*2021: minimum of 4 persons required to confirm departure. Please get in touch for more information.
Join us for the road trip of a lifetime! Earthstompers Adventures has been operating the Garden Route & Addo tour since 2006. Our 5-day group adventure tour is a safe and affordable way to explore the Western Cape, Little Karoo, Whale Route, Addo Elephant National Park, and Route 62. The tour has a good mix of nature, culture and adventure, so you can experience the best the Garden Route has to offer. This tour starts in Cape Town/Stellenbosch every Monday, and ends in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) every Friday.
Prices:
Accommodation Backpacker dorm Backpacker twin/double en suite room Backpacker single en suite room Guest house twin/double room Guest house single room |
2021-2022 rates R 8900 per person R 10200 per person R 11700 per person R 12800 per person R 15000 per person |
Price Includes
Services of a professional tour guide
Pick up and drop off
Air-conditioned transport
Dinners and breakfasts (except day 5)
Local wine tasting
Cango Caves adventure tour
Canoeing and hiking in Wilderness National Park
Game viewing safari in Addo Elephant National Park
Hiking in Tsitsikamma National Park
Entrance to the African penguin colony at Bettys Bay
Visit to the Southernmost tip of Africa, Cape Agulhas
4 nights’ accommodation (backpacker or guest house options)
We depart from Cape Town early on Monday morning for Hermanus. We follow the scenic coastal road, stopping at Betties Bay to view a colony of endangered African penguins. You can spend the afternoon in the seaside resort town of Hermanus, famous for hundreds of Southern Right Whales during the whale season (July to November) and many shops, restaurants and markets. In the afternoon we will drive on to Cape Agulhas, the most southern tip of Africa, where we visit a viewpoint known as the “real” place where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet.
*Shark cage diving clients will be picked up very early in the morning by the diving operator, and will miss the first half of Day 1 which includes the visit to the African Penguin Colony and Hermanus
Day 1 Highlights | |
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Included meals: | Dinner |
Included activities: | Penguins at Betties Bay |
Optional activities: |
Shark cage diving, R2880 Whale watching boat trip (in season, July – November), R1050 |
Approximate Travel Distance & Time: | Cape Town – Hermanus – Cape Agulhas: ± 249km (±3 hours) |
Overnight: | Cape Agulhas/ Struisbaai |
We travel to Oudtshoorn in the Little Karoo, known as the Ostrich Capital of the World, via the spectacular Route 62, which is South Africa’s longest wine route. We will have a lovely lunch and wine tasting at a local winery, before experiencing the subterranean beauty of the Cango Caves on a guided adventure tour. In the evening, we check into our accommodation, which is on a working game farm in the Little Karoo.
Day 2 Highlights | |
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Included meals: | Breakfast and dinner |
Included activities: |
Local wine tasting Cango Caves tour |
Approximate Travel Distance & Time: | 330 km; 4 hours |
Overnight: | Oudtshoorn area |
After breakfast we head over the marvellous Outeniqua Mountain pass where we will explore Wilderness National Park with some canoes. Enjoy a paddle up the Touw River through indigenous forest, enjoying the abundance of bird life. After about 40 minutes, the canoes will be left for a 2 km hike along a boardwalk, which will take us to a lovely waterfall and rock pools. After the canoeing, we will head to the famous town of Knysna via the lavish Lake District of the Garden Route. This up-market little town is filled with curios, restaurants and a waterfront, where you will be able to relax and do some shopping. After Knysna we will head to the Knysna Heads viewpoint for some magnificent views over Knysna River estuary and the Indian Ocean. Late afternoon you can spend exploring Sedgefield, with its expansive views and beaches.
Day 3 Highlights | |
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Included meals: | Breakfast and dinner |
Included activities: | Canoeing and hiking in Wilderness National Park |
Approximate Travel Distance & Time: | 144 km; 2 hours |
Overnight: | Sedgefield |
Today, we are off to Tsitsikamma National Park. En route we will stop at Bloukrans Bridge to view the world’s highest bungee jump bridge (216 meters). There is plenty of time for the adventure seekers among you to test their courage. The late morning will be spent in Tsitsikamma National Park with its unique combination of indigenous forest and beautiful Indian Ocean coastline. The Park has a wide choice of activities for all, including hiking, crossing a suspension bridge and swimming. Early afternoon we will leave the Garden Route for Big 5 country, Addo.
Day 4 Highlights | |
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Included meals: | Breakfast |
Included activities: | Entrance to Tsitsikamma National Park |
Optional activities: |
216 M Bloukrans bungee jump, R1400 Zipline Adventure, R695 |
Approximate Travel Distance & Time: | 320 km; 4.5 hours |
Overnight: | Addo area |
We will spend the morning exploring Addo Elephant National Park. We will spend up to 2-3 hours exploring the 28,000hectare National reserve with approximately 600 elephant and some Cape buffalo, lion, black rhino, warthog, zebra, eland, kudu, hartebeest and many more animals. After an exciting morning of game viewing, we will drive to Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), where the tour will end at approximately 13:0014:00. **
**Safari extension: For an additional safari experience, guests can add a safari at a private game reserve in the Eastern Cape, located approximately an hour away from where the Earthstompers 5 Day Garden Route tour ends. Please inquire for rates & options.
Day 5 Highlights | |
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Included meals: | None |
Included activities: | Entrance and 3-4 hour drive with tour vehicle through Addo Elephant National Park |
Optional activities: | 2-hour open vehicle game drive with Addo field guide, R440 |
Approximate Travel Distance & Time: | 40 km; 30 minutes |