From Stanford the R326 leads inland through the Akkedisberg Pass, to a junction from where one can choose between going to Caledon, Riviersonderend or Napier. For those who do not like gravel roads, this is the route to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa.

Continue along the R43 to De Kelders, named for the "Drupkelder" cave at the shore which attracted early travellers and was a popular holiday destination before it was closed to the public (the water source is now used by the municipality). De Kelders borders on the Walker Bay Nature Reserve to the north, and here one finds Klipgat Cave, an important archaeological site where evidence has been found of human habitation going back 2 000 years. A hiking trail overlooking Walker Bay stretches from Klipgat to Stanford's Cove. This is a popular whale-watching area.

Gansbaai ("Goose Bay"), named after the Egyptian geese that frequented a freshwater spring at the beach, started in the 1880s as a few fishermen's cottages on the dunes overlooking the present harbour, on the farm Strandfontein. A piece of land for a school was acquired in 1906, and in 1921 land above the beach was divided into 205 plots. Commercial fisheries followed, and by the 1950s Gansbaai was a bustling town. With the expansion of residential and holiday developments in the area, Gansbaai has grown as a commercial centre.

Danger Point lighthouse, at the tip of the nearby peninsula, was erected in 1895. This was too late for the troop ship Birkenhead, which floundered on a submerged rock in 1852, with only 193 of the 636 souls on board surviving.

Kleinbaai is the base for whale-watching and shark cage-diving boats, which often take the visitor to nearby Dyer Island, where guano was harvested from the 19th century. It is now a conservation area and home to penguins and the fur seals that attract the sharks.

At Franskraal one may visit the privately-run Strandveld Museum, where Jan and SD Fourie have many stories of the area to tell.

Beyond Franskraal the R43 brings one to the holiday resort at Uilenkraalsmond and then crosses the Uilenkraal River, on to Pearly Beach, a popular holiday and retirement village. The farm Groot Hagelkraal that one passes is internationally regarded as a biodiversity hotspot, with the highest incidence in the world of species endemism for such a small area. The farm belongs to the national electricity supplier, Eskom, which has identified a site at the coast as a possibility for its next nuclear power plant. Such a plant would greatly affect the marine life, including migrating whales, and the resultant power lines will destroy the eco-tourism industry on the Agulhas Plain and further along their route.

Pass Buffelsjagsbaai ("Buffalo Hunt Bay") further on (it offers no tourism amenities). The R43 rather incongruously ends at a T-junction with a gravel road (in the 1970s the Government planned to continue the R43 to Struisbaai and then to Arniston and beyond, mainly for military defence purposes, but these plans were never realized). The road to the right leads to Die Dam, a private holiday resort, and a left turn will take one to Struisbaai (take care – this road can be very slippery after rain).

Now we have to backtrack to get onto the Fynbos Road. From Stanford, the first turn-off is at Grootbos Private Nature Reserve. This gravel road goes over the hills and into a valley, where one finds the most southerly indigenous afro-montane forests, notably at Platbos. Alternatively, from the R43, take the turn-off at Uilenkraalsmond to Baardskeerdersbos and the historic mission village of Elim. This road is the designated connecting road across the Agulhas Plain, and the section from Elim to Bredasdorp has recently been tarred; plans to tar the remainder are unclear.

Baardskeerdersbos ("Beard Shavers' Bush") was long a forgotten corner, enshrouded in stories about the inhabitants. In the past few years it has attracted "outsiders", and now also hosts an Art Route. It is also home to one of the best Boeremusiek bands in the country, led by gravel-voiced Oom Manie Groenewald.

Elim was founded by the Moravian Missionary Society in 1824 and named after the Biblical oasis in the desert where the Israelites rested on their way to the Promised Land. (The farmhouse on the original farm Vogelstruyskraal dates from 1796.) It became a haven for freed slaves after 1838, and a monument to the slaves – the only one in South Africa – was erected here in 1938. The village still belongs to the church and has been declared a heritage site in its entirety. The old Mission Store now houses a heritage centre, and there is an old water mill with intact milling gear. Geelkop Nature Reserve is located on a hill just outside the village.

Since 2000 several wineries have been established on the Agulhas Plain, cooled by sea breezes. As traditional wine-growing areas in South Africa become hotter due to global warming, the Agulhas region may become increasingly important for the industry.

From Elim the new tarred road will take you to the R319 near Bredasdorp, or a gravel road may be taken past Zoetendalsvlei – a large natural freshwater lake – to Struisbaai, L'Agulhas and the famous lighthouse of Cape Agulhas at the southernmost tip of Africa.