The Garden Route and the Little Karoo Sights

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1. Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex

Named for the 15th-century Portuguese navigator, the Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex concentrates on the early history of Mossel Bay, when it was a regular stopover for Portuguese mariners en route to India. The most popular exhibit is the full-size replica of Dias's ship (a caravel), which was sailed from Lisbon to Mossel Bay as part of the quincentenary celebrations in 1988. When you see how small it is, you'll realize just how brave these sailors were. If you pay extra to board it, you'll find it all pretty authentic, except for the modern galley and heads. Look out for the Post Office Tree. In 1501 Pedro de Alteide left a letter here, which was picked up and delivered by another Portuguese navigator on his way to India. That's how South Africa's first post office was born. De Alteide was so grateful that he built a small chapel here, reputed to be the first place of Christian worship in South Africa. Pop a postcard into the shoe-shaped mailbox and it will arrive with a special postmark.