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Western Province - George |  |
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A little way inland from the Western Cape's Garden Route coast; just off the N2 national highway, about halfway between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. Largest of the Garden Route's towns, quite beautifully set beneath the high Outeniqua mountains and named after England's ‘mad king' George lll. The streets are broad and tree-lined, the atmosphere laid-back and unusually friendly, the fertile countryside around given over to pastures, forest plantations and to the growing of hops for the brewing industry. The town is connected to Wilderness and its lakes, and to Knysna and points east by the N2 national highway, and by the Outenqua Choo-tjoe steam railway (see Knysna); George and Knysna are also linked by the scenically quite stunning Old Passes Road.
George museum The displays, housed in the lovely old (1813) Drostdy building (the early magistrate's court and residence), focus on the timber industry; there's also a splendid array of musical instruments on show, including the country's largest collection of gramophones. Churches Among these are the Dutch Reformed (yellowwood ceiling, dome and pillars, stinkwood pulpit); St Mark's (Anglican), the country's smallest cathedral; and St Peter and St Paul, South Africa's oldest Roman Catholic church. Hlanganani Tours are laid on to this African township; booking essential. Outdoor venues Outeniqua park is the town's principal sporting venue. A couple of kilometres further out is the Garden Route dam, well worth a visit for its lovely mountain and forest setting. Witfontein, just outside George, is the starting point of the renowned Outeniqua hiking trail (140 kilometres, rather strenuous); the pleasant Groenweide nature trail meanders around the George and Wilderness areas. The Outeniqua conservation area, to the north and north-west, is a huge upland wilderness that marks a botanical transition zone - between the moist coastal plain and the drier Karoo to the north. Very few facilities, but a fine place for the more intrepid hiker. Seaside resorts Easily accessible is Herold's Bay, pleasantly located in a sheltered cove (tidal pool, good fishing, safe bathing). Victoria Bay, 9 kilometres from town on the Knysna road, offers good surfing and, in winter and early summer, whale-watching. Mountain passes The Outeniqua range pprovides the sightseeing motorist with an embarrassment of riches. Prime route is probably that which makes its way over the high and handsome Montagu pass.
Oudtshoorn , in the Little Karoo, lies across the mountains to the north; Knysna is on the coast to the east, Mossel Bay to the west. |
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GEORGE Western Cape
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