Known as the Garden Route, the area around Knysna was originally exploited for its timber and there are still large plantations of pine. Happily much of the original forest and vegetation remains, a great deal of which is managed by the excellent South African National Parks Service. There are trails for every standard of walker and mountain biker including many boardwalks such as this.

The forests have a wide variety of trees including yellowwood, ironwood, milkwood, blackwood, stinkwood, cape ash, wild peach and pomegranate and more.

The wetter areas have many varieties of ferns including the tree fern which is an invader, perhaps from La Reunion where they are rampant. They are a long way from their native New Zealand where we also saw them in profusion.

The damper areas also provide a perfect home for fungi, their pungent earthy smell announces their presence. Many are dark and meaty, growing on the boles of trees but others create a treasure of shapes and colours to brighten the forest floor.

More unusual and unique to the Western and Eastern Capes are the fynbos. Fynbos are ecosystems that have developed in response to the unusual environmental combination of the region's climate and soils as well as man's influence. North of Knysna many of these fynbos grow over vast areas of what was once gold mining country. Whatever the causes, the results are a diverse and beautiful combination of wild flowers and flowering shrubs.

If there ever was a Garden of Eden it may have looked like South Africa's fynbos.

Most of the plants were unknown to us, but here is a very English combination of roses and honeysuckle.

Perhaps they are introductions but if so a happy one. Some other garden escapees have caused serious problems for instance the Madeiran vine which is overwhelming the native trees and flora. The Parks service spend a lot of time and money trying to eradicate these invaders.

Over 65% of the plants of the fynbos are found nowhere else in the world and the sheer variety is overwhelming. Some of the flowers we could recognise, including this protea on the right ….....

….........and a wild Pomegranate on the left below

This really is the kind of wilderness that takes the breath away.