Garden Route Highlight: a Town Called Wilderness

If you saw a place named ‘Wilderness’ on the map, wouldn’t you go there?

The name certainly piqued my interest, and after I’d read a couple of things about the place, I knew I wanted to make a stop there.

Situated along South Africa’s popular Garden Route, Wilderness isn’t quite as wild as the name may suggest, though it does give easy access to many hiking trails and other outdoors activities. It also has some offbeat attractions, including the chance to meet a man who’s lived inside a cave for over a decade (but more on that later).

The Half-Collared Kingfisher Trail runs along the town river

Wilderness was one of my favorite stops in South Africa, though I must admit I wasn’t totally in love with the so-called Garden Route in general, a stretch of the south-western coast that is heavily promoted as a tourism destination.

I certainly liked it, but given all the hype, you’d think it’d be more special. The vibe along the Garden Route is very……