Fatal mistakes in route-planning

You're going nowhere quickly in Cape Town

- Jim Freeman

I hate to be a party-pooper when visitors show keenness to experience the best Cape Town has on offer but sometimes it is better to quash their expectations with a timely admonition than have reality crush them on the day.

Say, for example, that you're staying in Stellenbosch and want to take a quick trip to see the penguins at Boulders Beach before heading to Knysna. It's less than 70km from Stellenbosch to Simon's Town and then 500km to the heart of the Garden Route; a bit of a slog behind the wheel but doable in a day given that most of the journey is along the N2 freeway, right?

I often use the website Distance Calculator (www.distance-calculator.co.za) when planning road trips because I find it remarkably precise in determining how far apart are points A and B.

Note I do not say how long the journey will be as this must take into account the time taken to traverse those kilometres.