South Africans keen to heed Tourism Minister Valli Moosa's call to "see more of South Africa" will certainly want to explore the Garden Route or, as it is been dubbed by the author of a splendid new book, "the Paradise Coast".
There's no doubt the strip of land along South Africa's south coast is truly beautiful. It is a region of towering mountains, lakes, forests and pretty towns. Yet it is not the scenery alone that appeals, as Pat Storrar, a former reporter of The Star, points out in this coffee-table edition entitled Plettenberg Bay and the Paradise Coast.
The author retired to Plet nearly 30 years ago and has written an array of books, among them one on the legendary George Rex, one on Plettenberg Bay and another on the magnificent roads and mountain passes engineered by the two Bain men - father and son.
Now she has co-ordinated much of her research into a book every travel-hungry South African will want before (or after) setting off.
The early chapters are dedicated to a time before history began, and includes a fascinating account of what was happening along the Garden Route before Van Riebeeck's arrival.
She records how a Portuguese merchant ship limped into what is today Plettenberg Bay in 1630. Many of its crew were sick with scurvy and tropical diseases. Two of its captains had died and an old man in poor health was in charge. While some stayed on board, others formed a base camp on shore.
"Then disaster struck," Storrar writes. "After seven weeks a strong gale arose, splintering the stricken ship against the rocky ramparts of Robberg.
"Those on shore must have been numb with horror as they watched their compatriots struggling to swim through the boiling surf and heard the screams for help from the dying men."
An official entry in the records of the Casa da India reads that close on 400 died or were drowned on the voyage, among them many of the 270 slaves. What of the survivors? It's a long story (well told) but suffice to say some made it home - eventually. The details form part of an exciting chapter.
Storrar makes the point that motorists travelling along the Garden Route should do a leisurely trip through four of Thomas Bain's most beautiful mountain passes rather than simply rushing along the motorway. These include Bain's Old Passes from Knysna to George, the Robinson Pass to Riversdale, the Tradouw Pass and Cogman's Kloof between Montagu and Ashton.
"Of the more than 20 passes Thomas, the younger Bain, left to posterity, these four are among the most impressive ..." she writes.
"Neither Thomas, nor obviously his father, Andrew Geddes Bain, had the technical aids available to the modern road engineer - no maps or explosives, no front-end loaders or crushing and screening plants, no water-tankers or cement mixers ..."
Their accomplishments are well worth exploring and would certainly add an extra dimension to any holiday on the "Paradise Coast".
Perhaps the most fascinating chapter in the near 300-page book is the one dealing with the Griquas, whose largest settlement was at Kranshoek, just 13km from Plettenberg Bay. They were descended from the Khoisan and, after the arrival of the whites, were driven again and again from any part of the country where they wanted to settle. The story of their struggle for a place of their own is valid history and makes for moving reading.
Along with the history, the book is crammed with information about the people of the coast, the art, golf, towns, animals, birds and - for enthusiasts - whales.
Storrar says that for anyone interested in the largest of aquatic mammals, the Paradise Coast is a delight. Some God-given instinct, she writes, sends them from the Antarctic to warmer waters during the winter months.
Before they were commercially hunted, whales visited the southern coast in their hundreds of thousands. If one died of natural causes, she says, the land-dwelling Khoi dissected the carcasses and used the oil as an unguent and the bones as building frames for their houses.
The book is extraordinarily well researched and includes a map, along with information on what to see and do in "Paradise". At R484, the book is expensive but worth every cent. Storrar has done South Africa proud.
*Plettenberg Bay and the Paradise Coast by Patricia Storrar is published by Trevor McGlashan.
* For the record, there's a soft-covered book called Garden Route - From Still Bay to Storms River, which travellers will find excellent value. It's published by Jacana, can be slipped into a suitcase and incorporates useful information on the geography, history, sea life, plant life, reptiles and birds of the area.
The book includes plenty of photographs and colour drawings as well as maps. If Storrar's book is a souvenir to treasure, then Jacana's publication is an extraordinarily good working document to take with you on your travels. Don't do the Garden Route without it.