Attractions and activities Knysna: Escape Outdoors!

Attractions Forest Edge and Knysna are famous for, involves water, woods, walking and wads of fun! Meander through the page or use these short-cuts:

TOP 10      Forest Edge On-site      10-20 minutes      20-30 minutes+      Half-day & Day Trips      Knysna Maps      Knysna events, festivals, races

There are LOADS to do in and around Forest Edge. Having to choose only the Top 10, we most enthusiastically encourage guests to try and experience at least the following while you visit Forest Edge:

1. Walk in the Forest - from gentle trails to energising hikes, imagine the bird- and wild-life...
2. Picnic under a tree near your cottage or at Jubilee Creek where the Magic will find you
3. Delight in the Wild Oats Farmer's Market on a Saturday morning
4. Swim in Drupkelders Rock Pools in the forest
5. Explore the Knysna Heads - on foot or via the lagoon on a Featherbed Ferry or charter boat/yacht or even a canoe
6. Bodysurf at Buffalo Bay Beach or at Adventure Land Slides
7. Ride your bike or a horse on stunning trails
8. Eat your heart out whether on your veranda overlooking the braai (barbeque), or in dozens of great restaurants
9. Experience wildlife parks - Elephants / Primates / Predators / Raptors / Snakes / Wolves / Exotic Birds and more - see Wildlife park links below
10. Be thrilled at any of the incredibly popular and successful Knysna Festivals and Events
11. Do nothing while indulging your senses (in your bed, in your hammock, on your deck, on a massage bed, under a tree, around a fire, under the stars)

You think we cannot count!? Simply impossible to decide which of these incredible experiences to drop off this list!!

Elephant Image from knysnaelephantpark.co.za

BE your most peaceful self
Enjoy an in-cottage or Forest professional massage
Relax as your kids explore Forest Edge & the jungle gym
Laze in a sheltered hammock while the braai gets ready
Sit and watch our pet chickens - highly entertaining and therapeutic !
Have sundowners on the verandah
Find peace in our meditation / prayer corner or just enjoy the quotations
Star-gaze at the night sky or thaw your soul by a flickering fire
Share a movie or read or sleep or do nothing... Relax and re-connect...

DO what brings you adventure
Delight in bird watching (even some game), a true nature-lover's haven!
   Reference our: Tree List, Bird List, Mammal List
Feed or brush our tame pet donkeys (Hansel & Gretel)
Explore our on-site eco-edu-trail or a short walk into the forest
Imagine the exotic lost forest era at our Woodcutter graves
Inspire your body on beautiful, safe running routes
Mountain bike - safe farm roads and stunning forest trails
Investigate our Self-sustainability corner (Solar, Veg, Bees etc)

DO what brings you adventure
Explore the forest right by Forest Edge, down to a babbling Forest stream with small pools
Horse-ride - from beginners to accomplished riders, and kiddies rides are catered for
Be smitten by the famous hand-made dolls and other artifacts at the delightful Spookasem Craft shop
Learn about vermiculture at the Mother Earthworms farm - right in our own neighbourhood
Swim or canoe at The Drift
Buy some organic herb plants from the Heatherhill Herb Farm and Nursery
Get active on the Circles in the Forest walking trail
Cycle the back roads or challenge yourself on the Homtini cycle route

BE your most peaceful self
Experience a unique, healing studio massage
Savour a mouth watering meal, buffet or take-away at Totties' Eatery or the Red Barn restaurant
Marvel at one of the oldest Big Trees at Krisjan-se-Nek, by Dalene Matthee's memorial
Take a sunrise or sunset stroll down quaint country roads
Walk down to the weekly Rheenendal Barter Market - fresh organic veg, eggs, seeds, bread, yoghurt etc
Have a chinwag with real olde-worlde Woodcutters - they are a living monument!!

Forest Edge is the perfect base from which to explore then return to rest in tranquil surroundings...

These activities are not far to drive to; however, set aside a couple of hours to experience the attraction fully.

BE your most peaceful self:
Luxury Ferry boat rides to the Featherbed Reserve
Soak up fresh variety at the Wild Oats Farmer's Market
Picnic at Jubilee Creek where gold used to be panned
Explore Millwood museum, tea garden and the gold mining tour

DO what brings you adventure:
Try tandem Paragliding in Sedgefield
30min walk to Drupkelders' rock pools & waterfalls - quite steep as it approaches the gorge
The spotless Buffalo Bay Beach (bypass peak season traffic!)
Sea kayaking, rock climbing, abseiling, golf - various service providers and premises
Knysna's restaurants, waterfront, movie house, shops/curios
Whale Watching and Dolphin Ocean safari tours
Outeniqua Hiking Trail or professional guided birding- / eco-trail


WITHIN 30-60MIN AWAY

Not far away, but set aside a couple of hours to trawl the little stalls you will pass
on the N2 between Knysna and Plettenburg Bay and slightly beyond:

Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary
Birds of Eden Bird park
Wolf Sanctuary (N2 between Knysna and Plet)
Knysna Elephant Park and The Elephant Sanctuary
Radical Raptors for flight displays and close encounters with magnificent raptors (one of our personal favourites)
Walk with Cheetahs and more at Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre

Note some of these attractions are only 30-60min drive away, but here it is categorised by the time you'd need
to set aside to DO the actual activity, or experience the attraction.

If you plan your trip and stay long enough, you can explore wider than you think without having to re-pack and unpack your suitcases each time! Enjoy the scenic drives (the only kind we have!) on these outings and then return to your homely, peaceful forest cottage:


HALF-DAY OPTIONS:

Adventure-land Water-slide park and pools with quad-biking
Tsitsikamma Falls adventure - slides across waterfalls Tsitsikamma Forest Canopy tree top tours
Dare yourself to a Sky Dive near Plettenburg Bay
Bungy Jumping from the world's highest bungy bridge at Bloukrans



FULL-DAY OPTIONS:

Great options for exploring the heart of the Garden Route; also make handy alternatives when you are wondering what to do on rainy days near Knysna (if you really don't want to laze in front of the log fire)...

George:
The Strawberry Picking fields; Outeniqua Power Van and Transport Museum; Large Malls; perhaps taking the Seven Passes back-road on one leg, as it starts right near Forest Edge.

Oudtshoorn:
Enjoy spectacular views as you travel through the Outeniqua Pass, then Cango Caves; Cango Wildlife Ranch; Meerkat farm and more.

Mosselbay:
Explore the antique shops and river estuaries along GrootBrak on your way to the attractions of Mosselbay, including Bartholomeu Dias Museum complex with a life-size replica of the Dias Caravel (the early explorer ship that first landed in Mosselbay in 1488), the Post Tree, the Shell museum, Botanical Garden with Braille Trail and more. The Jukani Wildlife Predator Park is also outside Mosselbay.

PE:
Take in Jeffreys Bay, Tsitsikamma and Stormsriver; ideal for exploring new places on a rainy day. Blackwater Tubing at Stormsriver makes for an adrenaline alternative to Bungy Jumping.

Uniondale / Langkloof valley:
If the road is open and you feel adventurous, go to Uniondale via the beautifully historic Prince Alfred Pass and explore Uniondale and the picturesque Langkloof (part of Route 62) before returning via the Outeniqua Pass and George (or vice versa).