31.01.2017 Garden Route Part 1/3

On 27.01.17 it was finally time and we were allowed to pick up our rental car at the airport. After almost four weeks of Uber, taxi, old truck and little independence, we were really looking forward to it, despite driving on the left side of the road.

To save ourselves from shifting with our left hand, we rented an automatic transmission, which was a bit more expensive, but very practical at the beginning. The traffic in South Africa is really easy and clear, only in Cape Town or generally in larger cities it can get a bit hectic.

Our first stop was in Franschhoek, a small village about an hour away from Cape Town. We had booked a backpacker hostel there, but when we arrived, we found out that they were fully booked. Instead, the owner upgraded us and sent us to a guesthouse that was just a three-minute walk from the main street. And it was simply heavenly!

But we can only recommend Franschhoek to a limited extent, it's a bit snobbish and pretty boring. Definitely not the right place for young backpackers, but if someone has a lot of time in Cape Town, a day trip to a winery in Franschhoek might be worth it, otherwise I would just drive through.

We continued to De Rust, a small town just outside of Oudtshoorn. We stayed two nights in an apartment there. Because of the long drive, on the first day we just did some shopping in Oudtshoorn, which is really a great little town with quite a few entertainment options. On the second day, we visited the Cango Caves, which are limestone caves about 20 minutes from Oudtshoorn. They offer guided tours and you can choose between an adventure tour and a regular tour. We did the regular tour and it was very cozy and beautiful to see.

The absolute highlight was a waterfall in De Rust that could be reached via a short hiking trail. We could swim and splash in the almost nine-meter deep water. The water was ice-cold, but the whole setting was so great that it was easy to overcome! Fortunately, this place is relatively unknown, so during the two hours we spent there, only three other groups passed by, one of them being locals.