St. Francis Bay

St. Francis Bay is a picturesque holiday village laying at the gateway to the Garden Route, one of South Africa's premier holiday destinations and an hour's drive from the city of Port Elizabeth.

First sighted in 1575 by a Portuguese sailor, he named the area, St. Francis, after the Patron Saint of Sailors. The climate is temperate with warm summers and mild winters. The Kromme River borders the one side of St. Francis Bay, and is navigable for 6 miles (10km) upstream from the river mouth.

The river and its mouth is popular with fishermen, boaters, canoeists, windsurfers, kite surfers and marine creatures which shelter in its waters. Linked to the river is a magnificent marina lined with white walled thatched homes, some of which offer bed and breakfast accommodation. Canal cruises at sunset are popular here or else one can enjoy drinks or a meal at a Restaurant overlooking the canals.

 Port St. Francis, a small harbour resort village, lies in a sheltered nook of the bay and provides a colourful setting and safe anchorage for calamari boats, pleasure craft, and ocean going yachts. Cape St. Francis, a rustic fishing village, sits adjacent to St. Francis Bay. Popular for surfing at Seal Point, its beautiful stretch of beach and historic lighthouse built in 1878. Walking trails wind along the rocky coast, through the Irma Booysen Floral Reserve, and along the Cape St. Francis Point, linking it to the village of St. Francis Bay.

The village has several small shops and art galleries that will cater to almost all your needs and ensure that you find some souvenirs to take back home. There are two fair sized supermarkets which will provide all your basic requirements. In high season most of the shops are open seven days a week.

Whales can be spotted in the Bay from May to late October and dolphins can be seen daily on their way back and forth between the Bays of Cape St. Francis and Jeffrey's Bay. The Cape Clawless Otter is also ever present, frolicking in the waves and rock pools around the Port of St. Francis area and at Otters Landing.

 Nature lovers can enjoy the hiking trails meandering through the nature reserves and along a dune river system, with its unique landscape, where you can view the area's "Fynbos" (fine leafed indigenous plants) and see antelope roam freely. Over 200 species of birds have been recorded including the rare African Oyster Catcher and magnificent Fish Eagle. St. Francis Bay also has two 18 hole golf courses, St. Francis Bay Golf Course and the St. Francis Links, a Jack Nicklaus Signature Course. The Addo Elephant Park, situated in a malaria free area is a mere hour and a quarter's drive from St. Francis Bay and offers the best elephant viewing in the world.

Engela

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