2 Best Sights in The Garden Route and the Little Karoo, South Africa

There are three fabulous walks through Robberg Nature Reserve, all with equally spectacular scenery. Even the shortest one needs you to be steady on your legs because there are rocks to clamber up and down. The shortest takes about half an hour and offers great views of the ocean. A longer walk taking 90 minutes passes above a seal colony. Taking at least three hours (or even four or more if you have a more leisurely pace), the longest walk goes right to the end of the peninsula and often offers views of dolphins and whales offshore. It's worth taking a picnic, because you’ll want to stop and admire the wildflowers along the way. A fascinating archaeological excavation at Nelson's Bay Cave has a display outlining the occupation of the cave over thousands of years.

This 299,000-acre reserve stretches eastward along the coast for 31 km (19 miles). A wetlands paradise, the park's two blinds draws birders from all over the country hoping to see African fish eagles, great crested grebes, and red-knobbed coots. Several walking trails wind through the park alongside lakes, rivers, and the sea. A relatively gentle, accessible option is the 45-minute Woodville Big Tree Walk, which takes you past an 800-year-old yellowwood tree and into the indigenous forest.