Mossel Bay is nestled along the Western Cape portion of the world-famous Garden Route, which is known for its majestic beauty and its abundance of things to see and do. Tourist attractions include whale watching, shark cage diving, hiking, cycling, human origin tours, visiting the many historical sites and museums, and the magnificent beaches of this scenic stretch of coastline.
However, the spectacular gardens to which Mossel Bay is home are now getting the prime opportunity to be enjoyed in a brand new way…
Mossel Bay Tourism has partnered with Your Travel Guide and The Gardens of the Garden Route to showcase the wonderful colours and fragrant bouquets of the local gardens. This is in response to a growing demand from tourists, both national and international, who have expressed their desire to experience the beautiful gardens of the region up close and personal.
Jeanetta Marais, publisher of Your Travel Guide, found that garden tours are very popular all over the world. When paired with the other popular attractions and activities of the area, these promise to complete the tourist experience, combining the delight of natural attractions with historical and cultural ones.
Public and private gardens, as well as nurseries, will be involved in this campaign. In terms of the public gardens available for visits, these include the ethno-botanical garden (highlighting plants that were used by the original African tribes and European settlers for food, shelter and medicinal uses) and the Braille Trail, which brings plants and flowers to life for those who cannot enjoy the full visual impact of them due to limited sight.
The Gardens of the Garden Route concept was brought into being by Philda Benkenstein who shares a passion for gardening with her husband. She says, โWe have some stunning gardens in this area, and they could attract both the European and the African markets. We recently met a group of sixty Kenyans when we were in Bedford in the Eastern Cape, and they were there to see the gardens.โ
Because the Garden Route and Mossel Bay are already known for their garden-inspired natural terrain and beauty, these tours and attractions are set to be extremely popular across a wide base of visitors.
Contact Details:
For more information about the Garden Route Gardens, please contact: Philda Benkenstein at +27 (0)79 314-7126
Garden Route Open Gardens:
George Open Gardens takes place on 2 November 2013 from 10h00 to 16h00. Addresses with maps will be made available just prior and on the day of the Open Garden day at the Garden Route Botanical Garden and at one or two more gardens to be announced later. Entrance will be by donation (R5- to R10-ย per garden).
Photographs:
Photographs used in this article are courtesy of and ยฉ Glenwood in George, one of the stunning gardens you can visit on Open Gardens day.
