St Francis Bay and Cape St Francis travel guide

The adjoining villages of St Francis Bay and Cape St Francis are 20 km from Humansdorp, just off the R330. Less than 40 years ago there was nothing here except fine, white-sand beaches and a mule track which ran from Humansdorp to the lighthouse at Cape St Francis. These days a prosperous collection of whitewashed, thatched holiday homes line the beach just south of the Krom River Mouth, alongside an 18-hole golf course and a shopping centre.

A modern marina development, The Canals, is constructed around the largest man- made web of canals in the country. The only privately owned harbour in South Africa, it is full of smart yachts and chokka (calamari) fishing boats. A highlight of any visit is eating fresh calamari on the quayside. The nearby dam, the Churchill, supplies Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth) with much of its water.

The Cape St Francis lighthouse, also known as Seal Lighthouse T042-298 0428, 0900-1615, R14, children (under 12) R7, was built in 1878 and, at a height of 27.75 m, is the tallest stonework tower on the South African coast. You can go on a tour of the lighthouse, where there is also a small coffee shop. Also based at the lighthouse is an African penguin rehabilitation centre T042-298 0100, www.penguin-rescue. org.za, donations welcome, run by Ajubatus Marine and Wildlife Rescue, which treats and re-releases sick and injured penguins and cleans up those damaged by oil slicks. They have a small centre with a penguin pool and visitors can look through the large windows. All marine birds are extremely vulnerable to oil pollution, but penguins even more so than flying birds. Once oiled, their insulation becomes severely compromised and they cannot enter the sea to hunt, and as a result slowly starve to death or die of exposure/hypothermia.

The bay, with its 16-km beach, is famous for its waves and attracts surfers from all over the world. In 1963 the surfing movie Endless Summer was filmed here, as well as the remake Endless Summer II in 1992. For information, contact St Francis Bay Tourism corner of Lime Rd South and St Francis Drive, T042-294 0076, http://www.stfrancistourism.co.za, Mon-Fri 0900-1600, Sat 1000-1400.

WSt Francis Bay was named after the patron saint of sailors by the Portuguese explorer Manuel Perestrelo in 1575....read more