The Scenic Beauty of The Garden Route

This picturesque 550-kilometre 24-hour trip runs between Cape Town and George during the summer months and is rated one of the most beautiful in the world. From the Mother City the train travels through the Du Toits Kloof tunnel towards Worcester. Grapes are grown in vast quantities in this area, and apart from several co-operative wine cellars, there are a number of brandy distilleries. The KWV Brandy Distillery is visited on the George to Cape Town leg. The train continues along the Breê River Valley towards Robertson and then onto Ashton. On the Cape Town to George leg a stop is made here to sample the wines of a local wine estate. Then it is on towards the coast passing through stations such as Swellendam, South Africa’s third oldest town. Leaving the coast behind the train passes near Mossel Bay, a commercial seaport that enjoyed a boom in the 1990’s due to the discovery of offshore oil. George is a quiet inland town, founded in 1811 and named after King George III.