History:

The Garden Route coastline has been inhabited for thousands of years. This can be seen in the shell middens dating back to the 7th century, which was found in the caves of the Robberg Peninsula.

The trails beaten by large game migrating over the mountains developed into the modern passes between the Garden Route and the Little Karoo. It is also known that the route around the Cape to India resulted in Mossel Bay and Formosa Bay (now Plettenberg Bay) becoming popular stopping points for ships.

From the end of the 17th century though, Dutch settlers began arriving in the region, which resulted in conflict with the local Khoi. Within 50 years after their arrival the Khoi people were reduced to the status of slave labor.

The Garden Route has seen much improvement over the last two decades because the region is so popular with holidaymakers and tourists. Infrastructures of restaurants, accommodations and services have been upgraded to ensure that they can handle the crowds that flock to the Garden Route year-on-year.