Into the Langkloof - 255km

KNYSNA

...lies on the banks of a tranquil lagoon, guarded at its mouth by The Heads, and overlooked to the north by the Outeniqua Mountains. Surrounded by lush indigenous forests of yellowwood, stinkwood, Cape beech and red alder, its history is closely linked to the exploitation of the forests and to George Rex, a legendary figure who bought the farm Melkhoutkraal in 1804 and established himself as a timber merchant.

One of the most popular coastal resort towns along the Garden Route, Knysna offers visitors a wide range of water sports (in the lagoon and the sea) and adventure activities. Those in search of a more relaxed holiday can explore the lagoon aboard a houseboat, or on a tour boat. The lagoon is home to the endangered Knysna seahorse (Hippocampus capensis) as well as many of the over 230 bird species recorded in the area to date.

It is also famous for its fresh oysters. Places of interest include Millwood House, dating back to the region’s short-lived 1870s gold rush and now a museum; George Rex’s grave; and the Angling Museum. Numerous arts and crafts galleries, gift shops, farm stalls and furniture factories abound.

PRINCE ALFRED’S PASS

By the mid-1850s Knysna was becoming an important port and the need arose for a route through the Knysna forests and across the Outeniqua Mountains into the interior. The route was surveyed by Andrew Geddes Bain in 1856, but construction only began in 1863, and it took Thomas Bain four years to complete the pass. It was named after Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, who visited the Cape Colony in 1867. During his visit to Knysna, the prince took part in an elephant hunt in which several elephants were wounded and two killed.

YSTERHOUTRUG

This ridge in the forest owes its name to the ironwood (Olea capensis spp. macrocarpa), which was mainly used for railway sleepers and as heavy-duty structural timber. Until 1949, Ysterhoutrug was the northern terminal of a 35-km-long railway line built by the South Western Railway Company in 1904–07 to transport timber to Knysna.

KING EDWARD VII TREE

This forest giant is the largest of several enormous Outeniqua yellowwoods (Podocarpus falcatus) growing in the Knysna forests. With a crown spread of 24 m and a circumference of 6 m, it towers 39 m above the forest floor. Originally known as Templeman’s Tree, after the woodcutter who bought it, the tree was never felled because it was simply too big to handle. It was renamed after King Edward VII when a delegation of the British Parliamentary Association was treated to a lunch at the tree in 1924. Its age is estimated at 650 years.

YSTERNEK NATURE RESERVE

...is one of several fynbos ‘islands’ surrounded by the Knysna forest. The origin of these islands was initially attributed to the activities of early woodcutters, hunters or the Khoikhoi. More recent research, however, has suggested that at least some of these ‘islands’ are remnants of what used to be a far more extensive fynbos area, and which have been isolated by the expanding forest. The reserve was established to provide protection to an area of mountain fynbos and the surrounding indigenous forest. It was in the vicinity of Ysternek that Thomas Bain established his first construction camp.

VALLEY OF FERNS

This fairy-tale patch of forest lies within the Ysternek Nature Reserve amidst a section of wet forest consisting of red and white alders, stinkwood, Cape beech and Cape holly. Shaded by the dense tree canopy, the well-watered valley supports a lush grove of forest tree ferns (Alsophila capensis) up to 4 m tall.

SPITZKOP

...rises to a height of 933 m above the indigenous forests of yellowwood, stinkwood, white stinkwood, knobwood and candlewood. At an altitude of 830 m, the viewpoint offers expansive views to the north of the Outeniqua Mountains. To the south lie the forests and Knysna Lagoon, while the view to the east extends beyond Plettenberg Bay.

DE VLUGT

The remote farming settlement of De Vlugt became a bustling community after Thomas Bain moved his construction camp here in 1863. Bain’s camp consisted of a stone house built for his family, accommodation for the convicts and a chapel, also used as a school. From De Vlugt Bain embarked on the most challenging section of Prince Alfred’s Pass, much of which had to be cut into steep slopes, with deep river gorges dictating the building of numerous bridges.

AVONTUUR

The first farm in the area was granted to Matthys Zondagh in 1765, and although the name Avontuur was already in use by 1778, the exact origins of the Afrikaans name, translated as ‘adventure’, are not known. The settlement lies at the western end of the 610-mm narrow-gauge railway line which served the farms in the Langkloof, a region famous for its apples, until it was discontinued in 1993 due to economic reasons.