Mossel Bay Things to Do

In the museum of Mossel Bay you get to know the history of the great explorers.
It's mostly about ships, trade and the history of Mossle Bay.
The highlight is definatley the copied ship Bartholomäus Diaz reached Mossel Bay with.

The Dias Museum's principal draw is doubtless the copy of the 15th century caravel Dias used to make his epic voyage to the Cape. It was built in Portugal and sailed down to Mossel Bay to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Dias' arrival in southern Africa. You can go on board and wander around the ship at will.

Beyond the ship, there is a world-class seashell museum, aquatic exhibits, a small botanical garden, not to mention the Old Post Office Tree, which is also in the grounds. 16th century sailors used it as a place to leave letters in what was, effectively, South Africa's first post office!. For a lark, you can mail postcards in the boot-shaped mailbox next to the tree and they'll be canceled with a special postmark... The post box is shaped like a boot because it is believed those sailors left their letters inside one.

There's not a lot of big game left in the Western Cape -- for that, you need to go to Kwa-Zulu Natal or the northeast of the country -- but there is the odd private game reserve. If you've got limited time or are not planning to leave the Cape, Botlierskop will at least give you a bit of a taste of what you might be able to see in greater numbers or variety elsewhere.

Botlierskop was originally a large farm, but it was turned into a game reserve a few years ago. Within the roughly 2000 hectares of the property, they have lion, zebra, rhino, nyala, giraffe, wildebeest (a.k.a. gnu), and numerous species of birds and smaller animals.

The R383 per person ticket gets you a three-hour game drive in an ex-South African army troop transport that will go absolutely anywhere. The ride alone was worth the ticket price! Our driver, a girl of about 23 or so, took this thing over amazingly steep trails out in the hills beyond the superb lodge, where we also had lunch. Meeting the animals, watching giraffes saunter along the road, seeing a baby rhino nursing, all had us on the edges of our seats. Even though it was faintly artificial, it was still far, far better than what you see in even the very best zoos. I can't recommend this half-day outing enough!

This building was erected beside the Post Office Tree in 1902, as an annex of the mill. Here, one can learn more about the ecology of molluscs ( slugs and snails) and one can see various living molluscs and other animals in the aquaria. There is also a display that depicts how man uses shells and a large exhibition of shells on the upper level. Also whale exhibition

The Maritime Museum
Built in 1901 as a grist-plant and sawmill, now adapted to serve as a unique Maritime Museum. The main theme is the Portuguese maritime history from 1488 and its connection with the English and Dutch explorers until 1652. The museum houses a life size replica of Bartolomeu Dias' caravel, ship models of the bygone era, route maps to the East and exploration of the Dark Continent in general.

This is a booking agency in Mossel Bay that can set you up with all kinds of activities and accomodation along the Garden Route. The people there are very nice and helpfull.

Deepsea adventures take you out deep sea fishing, this is also a wonderful way to see the coastline area,
I include a web page.

There are some lovely buildings in Mosselbay. One just needs to walk around a bit and explore the place to see these jewels.