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Sites of interest:
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Situated halfway between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, beautiful Mossel Bay is
a coastal village and harbour 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 Sŕo Bras" as it was originally known. This town was then
developed as a busy export harbour 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
Diass 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
Granery 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
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Knysna Rib Adventures
Hold on tight for a safe ride on the unique Knysna RIB adventure power boat.
Safety is our priority but out main focus is fun fun fun...
More info ... click here
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Tel: +27 (0 )44 691 2202 P O Box 1556, Mossel Bay, 6500
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