Mossel Bay

The rather industrialised town of Mossel Bay, about 250 miles (400km) east of Cape Town, is traditionally regarded as the gateway to the Garden Route and is famed for being the spot where the first European set foot in South Africa. The Portuguese explorer, Bartholomew Dias, came ashore here seeking water after battling a fearsome storm at sea in 1488. The town now commemorates this event with the Bartholomew Dias Museum complex in Market Street, which houses a Maritime Museum and a life-sized replica of the caravel in which Dias sailed. Mossel Bay has some good beaches and all the trappings of a seaside holiday town, with cruises available from the small harbour to view seals, whales and dolphins, and shark cage-diving adventures. The nearby village of Albertinia sports the only Aloe factory in South Africa, and visitors can call in to sample medicinal and skincare products made from this indigenous plant.

Website: www.mosselbay.net

Wilderness

The village of Wilderness, set on the Touws River estuary, is fast developing with a plethora of luxury holiday homes lining the cliffs and hills along the long sandy beach and river. It is, however, a pretty spot surrounded by a chain of fresh-water lakes, and encompassing the Wilderness National Park with about nine miles (15km) of inland waterways. There are some wonderful hiking trails and canoe trips offered through the Park wardens, and numerous accommodation facilities are available.