Quintessentially Afrikaans – that’s Garies. The Nama people named this area “Th’aries” after the couch grass that grew along the banks of the stream and this was later changed to Garies.
Located on the West Coast Way Wild Route
West Coast Way Is South Africa’s Road Trip With The Most Twists
Explore the Cape West Coast by planning a self-drive trip or book a guided tour for a nature and adventure-filled Cape West Coast holiday.
Find a 101+ things to see and do on the West Coast Way:
Enjoy wine, craft beer, olives and Rooibos tea tastings, Weskus cuisine and braaivleis (barbecue), swing into Citrusdal with a zipline, go Cederberg bouldering, jump into natural (warm) pools, step onto cruises of lagoons and rivers, trek through nature reserves and a National Park, hop onto game drives, try the skill of archery and angling, get your adrenaline pumping with sand-boarding and quad-biking, go horse riding, learn about the San culture and Riel-dancing, do kite- and windsurfing, chill in your flip flops and do surfing, book a kayaking trip, go beach hopping, learn about bees, whales and listen to our birds in a twitcher’s paradise – all in South Africa’s wildflower reserve.
For more information on the West Coast’s top places to go, road tripping, hikes, tours and trails, explore westcoastway.co.za or call West Coast Way on 0861 321 777. Follow us on @WestCoastWaySA on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.Garies is located on the West Coast Way Wild Route. Decades ago Garies was simply one long street with a church, houses and a shop or two, three with a smattering of houses on the other side as well. The town was built in 1845 along the bank of a stream called Garies, or Th’aries, hence the guttural-sounding name. The land where the town of Garies was built was given to the Dutch Reformed Church by the owner of a farm called Goedeverwagting (it means ‘good expectations’).
The town is at the foot of the Kamiesberg (mountain) and the valley is hemmed in by rugged rocks and mountains.
Garies is nearly halfway on the road from Cape Town to Namibia. Some might say this means it’s, sort of, in the middle of nowhere.
Garies might be in a semi-desert area but in the second half of the year, the flowers that can be seen are breathtakingly beautiful. Don’t be surprised at numerous foreign accents that you hear wherever you walk over this period of time as people from all over the world flock here for this unusual and rewarding experience.
The Skilpad Wild Flower Reserve is just northwest of Garies and forms part of the Namaqua National Park. Look out for daisies – actually, they are impossible to miss in flower season – and tortoises (singular skilpad, plural skilpaaie) on the dirt road of roughly five kilometres that circles the reserve.
Sophia Guest House has wonderfully decorated rooms with plant names such as Olive Tree, Lavender, Rosemary, Koljander (Coriander) and Vinkel (Fennel) but there’s also an Old Bar section with three separate rooms.
Winter days are still warm, wintry nights can be freezing, and in summer it becomes very, very hot.
Time to head back to Cape Town? Stop at Piketberg, Citrusdal, Clanwilliam, Wupperthal, Vanrhynsdorp and Nieuwoudtville!
Find Garies on the West Coast Way Wild Route.
Open 7 days a week
Distance from Cape Town: 445.8 km
Where: N7
Coordinates: 30.5724° S, 17.9887° E
Contact: +27 (0)27 712 8035/6 | www.experiencenortherncape.com
West Coast Way Is South Africa’s Road Trip With The Most Twists
Explore the Cape West Coast by planning a self-drive trip or book a guided tour for a nature and adventure-filled Cape West Coast holiday.
Find a 101+ things to see and do on the West Coast Way:
Enjoy wine, craft beer, olives and Rooibos tea tastings, Weskus cuisine and braaivleis (barbecue), swing into Citrusdal with a zipline, go Cederberg bouldering, jump into natural (warm) pools, step onto cruises of lagoons and rivers, trek through nature reserves and a National Park, hop onto game drives, try the skill of archery and angling, get your adrenaline pumping with sand-boarding and quad-biking, go horse riding, learn about the San culture and Riel-dancing, do kite- and windsurfing, chill in your flip flops and do surfing, book a kayaking trip, go beach hopping, learn about bees, whales and listen to our birds in a twitcher’s paradise – all in South Africa’s wildflower reserve.
For more information on the West Coast’s top places to go, road tripping, hikes, tours and trails, explore westcoastway.co.za or call West Coast Way on 0861 321 777. Follow us on @WestCoastWaySA on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.