The Sunshine Coast is known for its unspoiled coastal scenery with many small coastal villages dotted along the coastline. Most of all, it is the feeling of escaping the crowds and getting away from it all that attracts visitors to this part of the Eastern Cape. The area offers value for money holidays and has always been a favourite area for families because of the miles and miles of beaches.
This area is also very popular with fishermen, both for land-based and water based fishing. The many rivers and dams as well as deep-sea venues won’t disappoint.
The only big cities along this stretch of coast are Port Elizabeth and East London. Port Elizabeth has a large auto manufacturing industry.
What to Expect along the Sunshine Coast
Alexandria is home to one of the world’s largest moving sandunes and the land between the Bushman’s and Sundays Rivers is protected in the beautiful, lush, Alexandria State Forest.
Bathurst is a small agricultural town in the heart of the pineapple industry, not far from Port Alfred, and famous for the Bathurst Oxbraai, the biggest Pinneaple in the world, red flowering coral trees, and for just being really small, pretty and agricultural. Have a drink at arguably the most charming pub in the Eastern Cape – the Bathurst Arms.
Bushman’s River Mouth on the Sunshine Coast in the Eastern Cape is home to the second longest (30km) tidal river in Southern Africa, offering magnificent salt water angling opportunities. This safe holiday resort offers kilometres of unspoilt and safe sandy beaches and beautiful tidal pools. The river is also good for swimming and when the wind is up, sailboarding can be great fun at the river mouth, at high tide.
Canon Rocks is on the boundary of the coastal section of the Addo Elephant National Park and is the ideal place to be based if you want to visit some of the Eastern Cape’s best game reserves whilst enjoying a sea-side vacation.
Cape St Francis, near Jeffrey’s Bay on the Eastern Cape Sunshine Coast is made up of St Francis Bay, Port St Francis and Cape St Francis. More than half the town of St Francis Bay on the Kromme River estuary is built around the biggest network of navigable man-made canals in Africa, so boating and fishing activities are very popular.
East London is a large port city with an interesting history, but one of its most appealing features is the long stretches of beach, warm waters and warm weather through most of the year. If you enjoy a huge variety of natural beaches, water activities of any sort, fishing and boating, then East London has plenty on offer. East London has some unexpected treasures in the local nature reserves. Hiking, walks, wildlife and excellent birdwatching are the main attractions in these reserves. Wildlife can also be viewed at Inkwenkwezi, a world-class private game reserve. East London certainly has options for the golfer to enjoy. Most of the golf courses offer sea views and are reasonably priced for a round of golf.
Gonubie beach on the Sunshine Coast, just north of East London, is one of twenty-seven South African beaches that enjoys Blue Flag status. The village of Gonubie is simply another signature Eastern Cape spot: a tranquil beach setting with magnificent coastal dunes, beautiful tidal pools and a stunning estuary, all of which are there for you to explore in no rush at all.
Hamburg is a tiny little village with about 150 residents, a few B&B’s and an internationally recognised Arts and Crafts outlet on the Sunshine Coast of the Eastern Cape. Expect beautiful unspoilt beaches, an estuary lagoon full of waterbirds, great fishing, oysters and the Hamburg Coastal Nature Reserve.
Jeffreys Bay is situated just west of Port Elizabeth. J-Bay as it is affectionately known, is South Africa’s undisputed surfing Mecca. Its future was set in the 1980’s when the Billabong Country Feeling surf store owner, Cheron Kraak, started the J-Bay Surf Classic. Thirty years later, the allure of J-Bay’s now legendary right-hand surf break at Supertubes is known well beyond surfing circles. The beaches are long and clean, and Dolphin’s Beach has been awarded International Blue Flag status.
Kenton-on-Sea is situated on a pristine piece of South African coastline between the Kariega and Bushmans rivers. Enjoying this magical piece of coastline, putting your feet in some of the country’s best natural tidal pools and watching the abundant sea-life at play is one way to refresh your soul in this special place. Kenton-on-Sea is renowned for being one of the only places in the country to spot the Big 7 – game reserves with the Big 5 are ten minutes’ drive from here, and Southern Right whales and Great White sharks are often spotted off Kenton’s shores.
Kidds Beach, 36km from East London, is a popular holiday resort, with families returning year after year. Situated alongside the Mcantsi River and its lagoon, this is a wonderful spot for the whole family, with a fantastic tidal pool, swimming beaches, river boating, body and board surfing and great fishing.
Kleinemonde is a quaint little coastal town 20-kms from Port Alfred. As is the case in most of the Eastern Cape, the town itself is not the attraction, it’s the setting of another untouched, magical piece of South African coastline that makes this place special.
Port Alfred is an idyllic sea side holiday destination on a beautiful stretch of coastline and has become known as the yachting capital of the Sunshine Coast, which has led to massive tourism interest from all over the world. The Kowie River is ideal for water sports and the Waters Meeting Nature Reserve is popular for hikes into the indigenous forest. Port Alfred is renowned for its fantastic swimming beaches, and is also well-known for being home to one of the richest collections of sea shells on the South African coast.
Port Elizabeth is an excellent ‘value-for-money-fun-in-the-sun’ holiday destination! With 40 kilometres of beautiful beaches, it is the only city in SA that boasts the BIG 7 – Lion, Rhinoceros, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard, Whales and the Great White Shark. PE is gateway to more than a million hectares of malaria free game reserves. PE, well known for the friendly locals has been called the Friendly City. There is plenty of entertainment, lots of venues for family fun and great shopping. PE is called the water sports capital of South Africa, as it covers all water based activities brilliantly. It also has a rich cultural heritage which is a major draw-card, including township tours.
Stormsriver is a small village known for eco-adventures like canopy tours, black water tubing and zip lines. Nearby, just off the N2, is the longest bungee jump in the world. The Tsitiskamma National Park is the start of the Otter Trail, one of SA’s best known hikes, as well as being in a beautiful location on the coast, where you can camp or hire a chalet.
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