What to do in Mossel Bay

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.

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’s 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 d’Ataide left a letter in 1500 in a seaman’s boot for passing ships. Letters are still posted there today in a seaman’s boot!