Extension
The Garden Route
Six nights along the Cape's southern shore.
The Journey
Africa's great plains ask something of a traveller. The Garden Route asks nothing at all.
Six nights along the southern Cape — cliff-top suites above a whale bay, a 1939 power station reimagined on a private island, a headland hotel above the Indian Ocean. Three houses, each with a view that justifies the stay on its own.
Designed as an extension to any Amara safari, or as a journey in its own right.
Day 1 — Cape Town to Hermanus
Stay: The Marine, Hermanus
A private transfer along Clarence Drive, the coastal road between mountain and sea. Arrival at The Marine, and the afternoon at leisure.
Day 2 — Walker Bay & Hemel-en-Aarde
Stay: The Marine, Hermanus
Whale watching in season, or the Cliff Path at your own pace. The afternoon in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley — private estate visits arranged, with non-alcoholic tastings on request.
Photography · Day 2 — Walker Bay & Hemel-en-Aarde
Day 3 — The coastal road to Knysna
Stay: The Turbine Hotel & Spa, Thesen Island
Through Swellendam and over the Outeniqua Pass. Arrival at The Turbine in the late afternoon.
Day 4 — Thesen Island & the lagoon
Stay: The Turbine Hotel & Spa, Thesen Island
A morning on the water with The Water Club, whose marina berth sits a short walk from the hotel. The afternoon at the Amani Spa.
Photography · Day 4 — Thesen Island & the lagoon
Day 5 — The Heads to Plettenberg Bay
Stay: The Plettenberg, Plettenberg Bay
The Knysna Heads in the morning — Featherbed's private reserve on the western head, or the eastern viewpoint. Thirty minutes on to The Plettenberg.
Photography · Day 5 — The Heads to Plettenberg Bay
Day 6 — Robberg & Tsitsikamma
Stay: The Plettenberg, Plettenberg Bay
Robberg Nature Reserve with a private guide, or the Tsitsikamma forest and canopy. The afternoon at leisure.
Photography · Day 6 — Robberg & Tsitsikamma
Day 7 — Departure via George
Ninety minutes to George Airport, connecting to Cape Town or Johannesburg.
The houses
The Marine — Hermanus
A Hermanus landmark since 1902, when it opened as the village's grand seaside hotel — whalers' boats still worked the bay below its windows. The late hotelier Liz McGrath bought and restored it in 1998, and it remains the white flagship of her collection: cliff-top above Walker Bay, where the finest land-based whale watching on earth breaches below the terrace in season, and the Cliff Path begins at the door.
The Turbine Hotel & Spa — Thesen Island, Knysna
The Thesen family sailed from Norway and settled Knysna in 1870, building the timber business that gave the island its name. Their power station, raised in 1939, burned offcuts from the family sawmill and lit the town for decades — it fed Knysna until the national grid arrived in the mid-1970s, and ran its final shift on 26 June 2001. Rather than demolish it, the island's redevelopment kept the machine: the boilers, turbines and gantries were preserved where they stood, painted, and a 26-room hotel was built around them. You take breakfast among the workings that once powered the town.
The Plettenberg — Plettenberg Bay
The founding house of the Liz McGrath Collection — the first hotel she bought, in 1989, and the one she rebuilt into the Garden Route's grande dame. It stands on the headland the village once called the Lookout, above Formosa Bay: ocean from every window, beaches on either side, dolphins and southern right whales in the water below.
Why this journey
Two houses of the Liz McGrath Collection, one heritage landmark, and a coastline that has never needed embellishment.
Begin your journey
This itinerary is offered as a starting point, not a fixed product. Travel dates, accommodation, pace and included experiences can all be adjusted to reflect your preferences — and the whole route joins seamlessly onto the end of any Amara safari. Contact us to begin the planning conversation.
Optional excursions · The Water Club
On the water, held privately.
Time on the water is arranged with The Water Club — the Garden Route's largest private charter fleet, working three waters: the Knysna lagoon, the Swartvlei estuary at Sedgefield and the Touw River at Wilderness. Their Knysna berth sits on the Thesen Island marina, a short walk from The Turbine's front door, so the water is part of the stay rather than an outing from it. Every charter is skippered, private and sole-use — your party and no one else — with Knysna oysters and champagne served on board on request. Booked through your consultant, or directly with the partner.
The classic choice
Private lagoon cruise
The classic — a sole-use sunset charter through the moorings and out toward the Heads, the lagoon at its best hour. Oysters and champagne on deck as the light goes; the skipper holds the boat where the view is.
Fishing charter
A skippered sole-use boat on the lagoon or beyond the Heads — tackle aboard, patience optional. It suits families and multi-generational groups particularly well; children are welcomed, not tolerated.
Guided fly fishing
The quieter waters — Swartvlei at Sedgefield and the Touw River at Wilderness, with a local guide who knows where the grunter feed. Catch-and-release, at first light or the last of it.
Kayak hire
Self-guided, straight from the marina — the island's quiet canals and the open lagoon at your own pace, no skipper and no schedule.
Excursions operated by The Water Club, TH36 Sawtooth Lane, Thesen Island, Knysna · availability & booking →
What's included
Quietly included.
- 6 nights in the accommodation shown
- Private vehicle and guide throughout
- Breakfast daily
- All transfers, Cape Town to George Airport
Not included
For clarity.
- International and domestic flights
- Optional excursions unless specified
- Meals other than breakfast
- Gratuities
Ideal for
Written for these guests.
- An extension to any Amara safari
- Couples and honeymooners
- Families and multi-generational groups
- Whale season travellers, June to November
- Guests who prefer the coast unhurried
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