Knysna Forest

Knysna is surrounded by a wide expanse of forest country. Between George to the west and Humansdorp to the east extends the largest area of forest in South Africa (80,000ha/200,000ac): only 1% of the country's area consists of forest, compared with 25% in the United States. Much of the area is planted forest (pines and eucalyptus), but there are still some stretches of natural "primeval" forest with giant yellowwood trees, some of them between 400 and 800 years old, as well as stinkwoods and the pink-flowered Cape chestnut. There are no longer any of the larger game animals in this area, and the fauna consists mainly of some species of antelopes and large numbers of birds. There are only four surviving elephants, which are rarely sighted