Knysna
Known as the “Garden of Eden of South Africa”, it stands out for its peaceful and quiet streets, with beautiful corners and small restaurants. Its location is spectacular, it is located on the shore of a lagoon (Protected Marine Reserve) connected to the sea through a small strait between two cliffs. It is essential to eat oysters, recognized as some of the best in the world; you can even visit a fish farm. Some of the best beaches in South Africa are also found in this area. It is considered the “unofficial capital” of the Garden Route.
Its main tourist attractions are:
- Elephant Park: Founded in 1994, it was the first facility in South Africa to house and care for orphaned African elephants. Over the past twenty years, the park has cared for and raised more than forty elephants. Some have become part of the resident herd and others have moved to other reserves and facilities in the Western and Eastern Cape. It currently has the largest domesticated matriarchal herd in the country. Responsible and educational interactions allow you to appreciate the imposing presence of these animals, but with the space and freedom to choose where they want to move, what they want to eat and who they want to interact with. There are no fences to spoil the close encounter and its environment encourages the elephants to exhibit natural behaviors.
- Monkeyland: Located in Plettenberg Bay is the world's first free-roaming, multi-species primate sanctuary. It has an area of 23 hectares where guided walking tours are carried out where you can see multiple species of primates such as capuchin monkeys, black and white rufous and ring-tailed lemurs, buff-cheeked gibbons, squirrel monkeys, black howler monkeys. and spider monkeys.
- Birds of Eden: It is the largest free flight aviary in the world, with 3,500 birds of 220 different exotic species and Africans, mainly parrots (of which there are 60 different species). All birds that arrive at the park go through a rehabilitation process before their final release into the main aviary. Many of the birds have never encountered others, therefore the main rehabilitation process involves socialization. Here they are also given the opportunity to develop muscles for flight, flight control, practice landings, changes of direction, etc.