Experience the best of Knysna
Knysna is a lagoon town on South Africa's Garden Route, guarded by two sandstone cliffs called the Heads and backed by ancient forest.
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Knysna lies on the Garden Route in the Western Cape, around a broad, tidal lagoon whose narrow entrance to the sea is guarded by two sandstone cliffs, the Knysna Heads. The waterfront has boats, craft markets and cafés, and homes cluster on Thesen Island. The surrounding forest, the largest of South Africa's indigenous forests, shelters the Knysna turaco, a green bird with red wings, and a few secretive elephants.
The lagoon is home to the Knysna seahorse, found in only a handful of estuaries in the world. Featherbed Nature Reserve is on the western Head, and the beaches of Brenton-on-Sea, Buffalo Bay and Noetzie lie along the coast, the last known for a handful of stone castles built as private homes. Plettenberg Bay, with a long beach and whale watching from about July to November, is east along the coast, and George lies to the west.
Oysters from the lagoon are the local dish, eaten raw or grilled, with mussels, line fish and craft beer from small breweries. Rain falls throughout the year, giving the Garden Route its green look, and the weather is mild.
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