Garden Route Unearthed

The Featherbed Nature Reserve in Knysna is located on the Western Head of the Knysna Heads and can only be reached via a boat trip from the Featherbed Ferry Terminus @ Cruise Cafe Restaurant.

Bryan and I have been keen to explore the Featherbed Nature Reserve in Knysna since we first saw the wooden walkways in the caves from the Eastern Heads view point in 2019.

We were visiting the Garden Route in October 2019 to see if this area was where we would like to move to after selling our property and business in the KZN Drakensberg.

We took a drive to the Knysna Heads and from the view point on the Eastern Heads, we looked across the estuary mouth and saw wooden steps and a boardwalk running through the caves on the other side. This really piqued our interest and for the past couple of years we have kept saying we should go and check it out.

The perfect opportunity arose in March 2024 when my parents came to visit us in Sedgefield. It was my 50th birthday, so we decided that was the perfect excuse we needed to finally book the trip and enjoy the adventure. Our great friends Adele and Ken joined us for the excursion.

We met at the Featherbed Ferry Terminus at 8 am for our 8.30am trip. It was cloudy and a little drizzly, but this didn’t dampen our spirits and we all clambered aboard the boat for the trip to the other side of the estuary. We had decided to not have lunch at the Featherbed Nature Reserve, but this is a option if you prefer.

The boat ride was great. Our guide was very interesting and informative, sharing some of the history of Knysna and the estuary and in no time at all we were disembarking. After a quick visit to the toilets, we then each chose a Gandalf Walking staff and climbed aboard the truck which drives you up and along the ridge of the Western Heads to the drop off point. the views from here are simply magnificent!

Once we had disembarked from the truck we started the 2.2km walking trail down to sea level and then along the base of the Heads back to the restaurant and boat jetty.

The first part of the trail is quite slippy with loose stones and you have to watch your footing as you head down the slope. The pathway passes through some forest sections, and here the vegetation is beautiful. bright flowers and fynbos, dotted in between the indigenous forest. a peaceful and lovely trail. We were all very grateful for our Gandalf staffs during this section of the trail.

The next section of the trail reaches the wooden steps (and wow, there are a lot of steps) down to the caves, the wooden bridge connecting the caves and the wooden boardwalks that Bryan and I had first seen I 2019. It was absolutely fantastic.

And the views across the estuary to the EasternHeads through the caves were wonderful, with the scenery and the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks, you wouldn’t believe Knysna town is just a short boat cruise across the estuary.

The last part of the trail is much more forgiving as the pathway runs level along the side of the lagoon. There are still amazing views and points of interest along the way and as we headed along the pathway, the clouds were clearing and the sun was starting to smile.

We had a thoroughly enjoyable time in the Featherbed Nature Reserve and i would definitely recommend the trip to anyone visiting Knysna. It is such a different experience and a great way to escape the hustle and bustle of the town and the traffic for a few hours.

In terms of the difficulty of the trail, you need good hiking shoes and I definitely think walking poles of a Gandalf staff are a good idea as there is a lot of loose stones and shale about on the downward slopes, but take you time and watch your footing and you will thoroughly enjoy it. You do not need to be super fit for this trail

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