Tailor Make A Tour
Garden Route Activities
Cango Wildlife Ranch and Valley of Ancients - Oudtshoorn , endangered species breeding facility extraordinaire. The oldest and biggest cheetah contact centre worldwide offers visitors the rare opportunity of interacting with our hand reared cheetahs and getting actively involved in saving this species and others from extinction.
We invite you and the whole family to pay us a visit and explore the facts and fiction surrounding crocodiles, view elegant cheetahs and giggle at the antics of our Bengal tiger cubs. For the adventurous we offer face to face encounters with wildlife in our Natural Encounters programe where you can touch a cheetah, enjoy the closeness of a tiger cub, wrap yourself in a python and even dive with Nile crocodiles.
Without you, the visitor, facilities like the Cango Wildlife Ranch would not be possible and without facilities like ours, wildlife will become yet another issue we wished we had paid more attention to when it was still possible.
Run the race against extinction with us whilst having the time of you life – Welcome to Cango Wildlife Ranch the conservation heart of the Little Karoo!
Cango Caves - Oudtshoorn
29km from Oudtshoorn, at the head of the picturesque Cango Valley, lies the spectacular underground wonder of the Klein Karoo - the Cango Caves. Situated in a limestone ridge parallel to the well known Swartberg Mountains, you will find the finest dripstone caverns, with their vast halls and towering formations.
Cango Caves is the only show cave in Africa which offers a choice of Standard (easy) or Adventure Tours. All tours are lead by experienced, knowledgeable and accredited Caves Guides. All tours are offered in English but Afrikaans, German, French and other language guide may be available
Featherbed Nature Reserve - Knysna
Featherbed is a privately-owned, registered Nature Reserve and a South African Heritage site, No.59. It is a pristine piece of paradise situated on the Western Head of Knysna and is accessible by ferry only. This spectacular four-hour eco-experience includes a return ferry trip, nature drive and guided walk, ending with a sumptuous buffet lunch at the Food Forest Restaurant.
Featherbed Nature Reserve is a prime example of eco-tourism and in order to protect the splendour of the natural beauty, access to the Reserve is controlled. Numbers are limited and visits are only permitted in the company of the Reserve's specialist guides.
The Featherbed eco-experience starts with a 25-minute ferry cruise. Your local guide on board will share fascinating tales about the Lagoon, the early shipping industry and oyster cultivation.
On arrival at the Reserve, visitors can enjoy a drive to the top of the Western Head in a 4 x 4 unimog vehicle with trailers, stopping at a magnificent view point en route. Here unsurpassed views of the Lagoon, mountains and Knysna can be enjoyed, whilst our knowledgeable guides explain the history and ecology of the Reserve. After the drive, your specialist guide will take you on an optional 2.2 kilometre downhill walk.
This 4-hour excursion departs daily and reservations are essential. It is a wonderful outing for the whole family - for all ages and fitness levels. Good walking shoes are recommended and remember to bring a camera, with plenty of film, hats in summer and a warm jacket for the ferry trip.
Elephant Sanctuary - Plettenberg Bay
The Elephant Sanctuary is situated in a beautiful part of The Crags near Plettenberg Bay, in the scenic and famous Garden Route of South Africa. We are directly adjacent to Monkeyland and the Birds of Eden sanctuary, giving you three world-class experiences in one stop.
The Elephant Sanctuary group has three operations – Hartbeespoort Dam near Pretoria and just outside Gauteng, Plettenberg Bay in the Garden Route and Hazyview in the Lowveld.
The Elephant Sanctuary provides a “halfway house” for young African elephants in need of a temporary home. It is the only operation in South Africa that provides for elephants in this way. It is our vision to release all the elephants into an environment where they can be more independent once they are older.
The Elephant Sanctuary recognises the fact that having animals in captivity is a huge responsibility that carries an obligation to ensure their wellbeing and welfare.
We believe that any animal in captivity should be free from pain, injury and disease. They should be able to express normal behaviour, in other words behaviour patterns that are similar to what they would express through their social structures in the wild. They should be stress free, their nutritional and mental needs should be fulfilled and cognitive stimulation should be provided.
The Elephant Sanctuary, Plettenberg Bay, offers the following educational programs:
One-hour trunk-in-hand elephant educational program
An experienced guide introduces you to the elephants, sharing with you their backgrounds, behaviours, personalities and more. You can touch, feed, interact and walk trunk-in-hand with the elephants.
Elephant-back ride
This includes the full trunk-in-hand educational program followed up by a ride of approximately 10 to 15 minutes – a privilege historically reserved for kings! The Elephant Sanctuary conducts their elephant back riding program in a controlled environment to make it a safe yet exciting experience. Elephant rides are done bare back to enhance your contact with the animal.
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Early morning elephant brush downs
During this very special interactive program you take part in the morning or afternoon grooming and brush down of the elephants. Afterwards you join the training- and stimulation program the handlers do with the elephants every day. This is followed by the educational trunk-in-hand program.
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Ocean Safaris - Plettenberg Bay
Welcome to the world of Ocean Safaris. Situated in Plettenberg Bay one of SA’s most diverse bays. The sheltered, warm waters attract a multitude of marine species from the endangered African Oystercatcher to juvenile hammerhead sharks and thousands of Common dolphins, which come into the bay to feed. Ocean Safaris is an environmentally conscious eco-marine operation and all their cruises are conducted with a strict code of conduct.
Their local skippers and tour guides provide a personalized service and give insight into the wide spectrum of marine life and geology of the area. The tour begins with a unique dry launch into the surf zone and ends with a ride straight back onto the beach….
Two different types of Dolphin & Whale watching cruises are offered : DISCOVERY CRUISES and PREMIUM CRUISES (Close Encounter).
BOTH cruises are essentially the same and we don’t call them the BEST SEAFARI BY FAR for nothing!!
Special notice is taken of any dolphins in the area, visit the seals and check out any seabirds, sharks and other marine species that may be around, you never know what you are going to see!! Our records show that OCEAN SAFARIS see more animals than anywhere else in the country!
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