Should your travels take you from the Small Karoo over the Outeniqua Mountains, you will come upon the coastal town of George. Here you simply have to go to the car hire in George Airport, so that you may travel further up or down the beautiful garden Route. Having a rental car will give you the freedom of movement that will enhance your vacation experience.

When it comes to deciding which way to go first is almost like a flip of a coin but in this case heads or tails you win. You could either travel along the freeway towards the hamlet of Mossel Bay. This large harbour is one of the best kept secret havens for all round good weather. Even the Guinness Book of Records’ rates it as having the same temperate weather like that of Hawaii.

There are long stretches of very clean beaches and the water is surprisingly warm compared to the icy waves of the Cape. Accommodation is easy to find with a range of backpacker and guest lodges in the vicinity and there is even a railways coach that doubles as a dormitory of a backpackers’. The Stone Lodge is a wonderfully old well kept establishment, built from natural sandstone and old wooden fixtures and fittings that give an old world charm.