The Garden Route is probably the most popular destination in South Africa after Cape Town, and has earned this position thanks to the gorgeous juxtaposition of a heavily wooded landscape with a shoreline of lagoons, long beaches, canyons and crashing waves. It is the lush greenness of it all that gives the Garden Route its name, and taking the back roads through the forests, across picture-perfect stone bridges that date back over a hundred years is a great way to get off-the-beaten track here. For the adventurous and active there is kayaking, hiking and cycling on offer, or even white-water tubing and bungy jumping. More traditional pastimes include ocean safaris and a fantastic selection of wildlife interaction on offer near the stunningly located town of Plettenberg Bay. At Knysna the pretty waterfront development looks over the lagoon towards the towering cliffs of the Knysna Heads, where the ocean rolls in, mixing and churning with the outgoing river water. A similar thing occurs at the Storms River mouth, only you can get so much closer to it thanks to a low-slung rope suspension bridge. In short, the Garden Route is all about nature and a huge variety of ways to get close to it, enjoy it and be thrilled by it.