2019 Holiday - Garden Route

The second stage of our holiday was allocated to part of the Garden Route.

We spent two nights at the Heriot Manor Guest House in George - a really super stay! Great breakfasts, comfortable rooms, and beautiful gardens! While we were there, we took the opportunity to have lunch with one of our nieces who has recently got engaged, and some wonderful rain on the second day completed a delightful stay. The rain curtailed our activities a bit, but didn't spoil anything.

On the morning that we left (after the rains), we spent a short while at the Garden Route Botanical Gardens, which at this time of year were a touch disappointing. But been there, done that! Afterwards, we left for Plettenberg Bay, with a short detour into the Knysna Waterfront for some coffee and a walk around.

Once we had arrived in Plett, we drove around looking for a place where we could have lunch. After a Google search the night before, we were quite keen to try out the Corner Bistro, but after tracking it down, found that it was closed for lunch and only opening later in the day. So we ended up at the Lookout Deck, and had simple but beautifully prepared burgers - beef for Jacqui, and chicken for yours truly.

Then off to find our B&B - the Sea Breeze Guest House - another lovely find as a place to spend a few nights! Really great people, another beautifully appointed room, and again, more than one could eat at breakfast!

We spent most of our second day there at the Birds of Eden Sanctuary just outside Plett. The variety of birds species they house is just phenomenal, and every bird is a "rescue" bird! There were some interesting new entrants since our last visit some years ago, most striking of all being the Scarlet Ibis from South America. The bright red colour of the birds, as is the case with Flamingoes, comes from the carotene found in the crustaceans that form part of their diet.

Some of the images taken on this part of the trip can be found here. Click on the photos for larger versions.

Scarlet Ibis