St Francis Bay

 

We have moved to our final destination before the journey home. St Francis Bay is a beach town about 100km from Port Elizabeth (recently renamed Gqeberha). The beaches along the garden route all have golden sands. Our first stop after leaving Knysna was Plettenberg Bay, which was around 25km drive.  

Plettenberg Bay

From Plettenberg bay, another 150km to St Francis Bay, driving through the difficult to pronounce Tsitsikmama national park, which is a mountainous forest cover region with various nature reserves. It is also the boundary between the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces. 

St Francis Bay and the near by Jeffreys bay are ideally suited for surfers. Golden beaches with waves perfect for surfing. It must be pointed out that these waters are popular sharking feeding grounds, so surfing does come with a risk warning. 

The buildings here are all white with either thatched or grey roofs. The building regulations are tightly controlled to ensure homes and nature to blend in. Natural sea water canal's have become the location for homes. The canals connect to the sea via a natural lagoon, which allows the owners of the houses to have quick boat access to the ocean. The lagoon is a perfect location for kite surfers or boarders.

St Francis Bay has a Jack Nicolas designed links course, which is rated in the top 5 courses in the country. It seemed rude not to play while here and the course did not disappoint. The course was designed into the sandy hills overlooking the St Francis bay, with tree and bush lined fairways. These are home to many  Puff Adders, so looking for balls is not advised.. The course is also home to many other creatures, including giant snails who harmlessly feed on the fairways.

 

It seemed appropriate to visit the St Francis bay lighthouse. The Seal Point Lighthouse was built in 1878 and is now a tourist spot and has a fantastic restaurant. The only challenge is the rain started as we arrived. Apparently this is very unusual summer weather for South African…