Things to do
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Featherbed Nature Reserve
A private reserve on the western head is reached by ferry from the town quay alone, with a trailer ride up the hill and a walk back down through milkwood forest and coastal fynbos. Lunch under the trees comes with the standard trip. Numbers are capped and sailings book out in December, so dates are worth fixing early.
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Knysna Elephant Park
Elephants rescued or relocated from culls live on this farm on the road towards Plettenberg Bay, where visits are guided walks alongside the herd. Feeding sessions are the draw for children. Interactions of this kind are debated, and the park has moved away from rides and towards walking and observation.
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Knysna Heads
Two sandstone cliffs guard the narrow channel where the lagoon meets the Indian Ocean, and the current through it has wrecked enough boats to make the crossing a matter for local skippers. A viewpoint on the eastern head is reached by road. The western head is a private estate, entered on a booked walk.
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Knysna Lagoon
An estuary of some seventeen square kilometres sits behind the Heads, shallow, sheltered and farmed for oysters. Ferries, yachts and paddle craft share the water, and a marine protected area covers part of the system. The seahorse found here lives nowhere else. Wind gets up in the afternoon, so flat water is a morning condition.
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Plettenberg Bay
Wide beaches and a headland of holiday houses sit half an hour east, with Robberg Nature Reserve running out to sea on a peninsula walked in circuits of different lengths. Boat trips go out for humpback and southern right whales in winter. December fills the town to capacity, and the rest of the year is quiet enough to swim alone.
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Tsitsikamma
Indigenous forest meets a rock coast in this section of the Garden Route National Park, where the Storms River mouth is crossed on suspension bridges. Day walks, snorkelling and kayaking into the gorge all start from the rest camp. The Otter Trail books close to a year ahead, and the drive east is long enough to make an overnight stay sensible.