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City of Mossel Bay


Situated halfway between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, beautiful Mossel Bay is a coastal village and harbor of the World Famous Garden Route. This popular holiday town is surrounded by a sunbathed peninsula and the refreshing waters of the Indian Ocean. It is a busy summer destination as well as an ideal winter retreat. It is blessed with a mild climate all-year round but its most important feature is its status as the historical capital of the Garden Route.

Well-traveled pleasure boats dock regularly as well as other international seafarers using the modern docking facilities. Mossel Bay is a rapidly growing tourist destination as more and more travelers are discovering the Jewel of the Cape Garden Route.

Back in 1488 a man called Bartholomew Dias threw anchor in the Bay of St Blaize. "Aguada de Sào Bras" as it was originally known. This town was then developed as a busy export harbor for wool, ochre and ostrich feathers. The many beautiful historical buildings in the town is evidence of the long ago happenings which the town as it is today. In 1601 the Dutch navigator, Paulus van Caerden, renamed it Mossel Bay, as he found that mussels were a most welcome addition to the diet of his crew. Today, mussels gathered in Mossel Bay each spring are rated by gourmets among the finest in the world.

Due to its rich history, there are many museums in the town to visit, there is the Maritime Museum which focuses on the sailing and ships of the early days of discovery, it is home to the impressive life-size replica of Bartolomeu Dias caravel, the ship in which he sailed into Mossel Bay in the year 1488. It also displays ship models of a bygone era, route maps to the East. The Granary is another museum which has a permanent display of fresh specimens of wild flowers found in this region, and a good selection of photographs of the many mountain passes that link the coastal area to the Little Karoo. The Shell Museum houses a very large collection of shells, and demonstrates how they were used by man through the years as tools etc. The Cultural History Museum has many and varied artifacts of historical importance from the area covering various periods in history. Many of these museums were developed within some of the historical buildings in the town, but there are others, such as the Shirley Buildings, the Munrohoek Cottages and many others which may be visited. One of the most popular attractions is the Post Office , which is estimated to be more than 800 years old and has been declared a National Monument. It is underneath this milkwood tree where Pedro dAtaide left a letter in 1500 in a seamans boot for passing ships. Letters are still posted there today in a seamans boot! You can read more about these attractions here.

Mossel Bay is sportsman's and waters sport enthusiast's paradise, it has a very wide variety of adventure sports facilities as well as sport of the conventional type, such as golf, squash, tennis, bungi and bridge diving, indoor heated pools, horse riding to name but a few. And if you're into water sports, there is some of the countries most adrenalin induced activities available - such as, shark cage diving, ship wreck diving, snorkeling, power boating and others
Mossel Bay is a quaint coastal town with lovely beaches, best surf sport and most mouth-watering seafood. It also has historical architecture, several museums and an old working harbor.

 

  • Diaz Museum Complex: Includes the Granary and Culture Museum, the Maritime Museum, the Post Office tree, The shell museum and Aquarium, a historic freshwater spring, the Padrao, an indigenous garden and braille trail, the Munro Hoek Cottage and Malay graves..
     
  • ATKV Hartenbos Museum: Displays the various stages of the Great Trek
     
  • Cape St Blaize Cave: Yielded artifacts dating back 80 000 years. They are housed in the Culture Museum.
     
  • St Blaize Lighthouse:  A manned lighthouse dating back 1864.
     
  • Kwanaonqaba Township Tours: Visits to "sangoma" and a local shebeen Drink some local beer and have lunch at a township guest house.
     
  • Boggomsbaai Golf Club: A nine-hole course.
     
  • Mossel Bay Golf Course: A challenging undulating, 18-hole course!
     
  • Great Garden Route Eco Adventure Tours: Abseiling and Kayaking at Diaz beach.
     
  • Bungee Jumping: 65km bungee and tandem jumps at the Gouritz River bridge.
     
  • Quad-bike routes: Zingela Indlela game tracks offers three quad-bike routes on a farm.
     
  • Hiking trails: Skaapplaas offers scenic hikes past San rock art. The Bonniedale holiday Farm offers mountain biking and horse riding on the farm. 4x4 Trails in the Outeniqua mountains
     
  • Shark Cage Diving: Departs daily from the harbor at 10h00. Dive gear provided. Parasailing and Dias and Santos beach. Deep sea fishing - equipment supplied. Fly-fishing possible from Gouritz river estuary to the Knysna estuary
     
  • Garden Route Casino: Slot machines, gambling tables, private salon and restaurants.
     
  • Eco tourism: Botlierskop Game farm offers game drives, nature walks and meals. Nyaru game farm offers game viewing and accommodation. Garden Route game lodge has game, a restaurant, swimming pool, sauna and jacuzzi. Zingela Indlela has ostriches, crocodiles, game, quad biking and accommodation.