Various DJ’s will play every night throughout the season including Arsn Wenga, Vibe Nation, Dublusion and many more….

Winkies is planning an excellent New Years Eve event and promises to be the biggest party in the area! The New Years Eve party will be a massive event and will continue until the sun rises over Middle Beach into 2012 -  this is made possible by the liquor board regulations that allow for alcohol sales till 04:00am on New Years eve.

Last year the Winkies branded staff shirts were coveted by the patrons, which will be on sale to the public.

Winkies will also host the increasingly popular “ballies braai”, for the more ‘mature’ crowd who have outgrown the infamous Bathurst Ox Braai. Patrons on this night will be treated to a live band playing hits from the 60s, 70s, 80s and a lamb spit. This event was a great hit last hit last year and we expect this year to be even bigger and better!

The Winkies restaurant will be open daily for lunch and dinner and will also have menus geared towards children. The location on Middle Beach provides a great venue for day-trippers to have a meal and holiday-makers to entertain family and friends over the festive season.

Winkies will provide a shuttle service to transport patrons from the Main Street to Middle Beach. Winkies has a strong no drinking and driving campaign. Winkies will also be upgrading the Middle Beach ablution facility as  part of our contribution to the Kenton community and in addition to this, Winkies also be making a contribution to a chosen charity in the Kenton Community.

Winkies aims to provide an entertainment facility that is attractive to the whole family, and promises to provide an extremely festive night-life for the over 18 year old community! The Winkies event line up and dates will be published on Posters and fliers in Kenton and the surrounding towns, as well as on Facebook.

We look forward to seeing you for the festive season in December 2011!

PRESS RELEASE -

BLUE FLAG MEDIA STATEMENT

At the beginning of November 2011, South Africa will celebrate a remarkable achievement in that this will be the start of the 11th year of WESSA’s Blue Flag programme in South Africa.

Launched in November 2001 as part of the South African Government’s CoastCare plans to implement the new coastal legislation, Blue Flag has grown from only 3 beaches in the first year to 27 for this the eleventh year of the programme. Growth has been significant and sustainable and for most coastal municipalities each year sees new beaches being introduced to the programme.

“The success of the Blue Flag programme in South Africa over the past 11 years can be attributed to the commitment of participating municipalities to provide beach-goers and holiday-makers with world class beaches offering a well-managed natural environment; safe, clean and well-managed facilities; and environmental education initiatives, whilst creating employment and tourism opportunities for our communities,” said Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs, Ms Rejoice Mabudhafasie.  She gave the keynote address at the National Launch of the 2011-2012 Blue Flag Beach Season, held at Kenton-on-Sea (near Port Alfred, in the Ndlambe Municipality).  She praised the efforts of municipal staff, councillors and supporting communities in developing their Blue Flag beaches and maintaining standards of excellence in managing them and concluded by saying that the country should aim to have a Blue Flag coastline. WESSA’s National Coastal Project Manager and National Blue Flag Programme Co-ordinator, Mr Ted Knott explained: “Blue Flag should be the benchmark, not the exception. Additionally, the Blue Flag programme should have a radiating effect – those beaches or marinas adjacent to Blue Flag Beaches, Boats and Marinas should ideally result in adjacent areas attaining an equally high standard. Those municipalities managing Blue Flag beaches are showing that high levels of excellence and delivery of services to benefit both local and international visitors are possible. “Blue Flag is an organized and internationally managed accreditation programme that provides a viable system for service excellence on our coastline and those municipalities receiving accreditation today should be acknowledged for what they have achieved” said Mr Malcolm Powell, International Blue Flag Jury Chairman, who was a spokesperson at the event.

Research has shown that the investment that coastal municipalities make in meeting and sustaining the international quality assurances that Blue Flag accreditation brings, pays off.  Increasingly South Africa’s domestic tourists are choosing Blue Flag beaches as their “destination of choice” and in so doing, mirroring trends that have been seen in Europe and Scandinavia on their Blue Flag beaches. As the number of Blue Flag beaches on offer in South Africa increases, visitors will know have more choice in terms of visiting our world-class Blue Flag beaches.

Blue Flag as an environmental programme also brings significant benefits in terms of improved environmental management of our coastline.  This is clearly manifested in the highlighting of issues relating to bathing water quality and the need to ensure that infrastructure is effectively managed to minimize impacts on coastal environments.     The greatest threat to Blue Flag sustainability into the future will be the potential negative impacts of land-based pollution on sea bathing water quality.  “Water quality in rivers and estuaries is having a serious effect on our coast”, said Knott. The Green Drop reports earlier this year highlight the very real challenges this country faces in managing waste water management systems and the need for us to ensure that the necessary skills and technical ability is in place at local government level.

South Africa was the first country outside of Europe to implement the Blue Flag programme and since its inception the programme has become a truly global initiative with over 40 countries participating and a number of countries undertaking the feasibility or pilot stage.

The South African beaches that have received Blue Flag accreditation for the 11th year of Blue Flag in South Africa are:

City of Cape Town Municipality:
Silverstroomstrand (*new)
Clifton 4th beach
Camps Bay
Llandudno (*new)
Muizenberg
Strandfontein beach
Mnandi
Bikini beach, Gordon’s Bay
Overstrand Municipality:
Kleinmond beach
Hawston beach
Grotto beach, Hermanus
Mossel Bay Municipality:
Santos beach
Hartenbos beach
Hessequa Municipality:
Witsand, at the mouth of the Breede River
Lappiesbaai, Stilbaai
Bitou Municipality:
Robberg 5th beach, Plettenberg Bay
The Waves, Keerboomstrand, near Plettenberg Bay (*new)
Kouga Municipality:
Dolphin beach, Jeffrey’s Bay
Nelson Mandela Metro Municipality:
Humewood beach, Port Elizabeth
Ndlambe Municipality:
Kariega beach, Kenton-on-Sea
Kelly’s beach, Port Alfred
Hibiscus Coast Municipality:
Trafalgar beach, south coast KZN
Marina beach, south coast KZN
Ramsgate beach, near Margate
Margate beach
Lucien beach near Margate
Umzumbe (Pumula) on the south coast KZN

(*Refers to conditional Full Status, upon the beach meeting the relevant criteria by the end of November)

Please visit www.KentonXtreme.co.za for all the results.

Summer at the seaside
by Erns Grundling

(This excerpt is from an article in Weg! and GO! Magazines, January 2011)

(Photograph courtesy Carlie Norval)

Two rivers, great beaches and lots of fun things to do – a summer holiday in the Eastern Cape town of Kenton on Sea is hard to beat.

The Sunshine Coast technically starts at Van Stadens River west of Port Elizabeth, but to me Kenton on Sea, or just Kenton, has always been the gateway to this stretch of coastline.
Everything on the Sunshine Coast is geared towards one thing: holidays. The brochures boast that you’ll experience more sunny days here than at any other seaside destination in the country.

The Sunshine Coast technically starts at Van Stadens River west of Port Elizabeth, but to me Kenton on Sea, or just Kenton, has always been the gateway to this stretch of coastline.

Everything on the Sunshine Coast is geared towards one thing: holidays. The brochures boast that you’ll experience more sunny days here than at any other seaside destination in the country.

Another feature that makes Kenton so popular as a holiday destination is the fact that it’s flanked by two rivers. The Kariega and the Bushmans snake to the sea in gorges bedecked in aloes. Hemmed in between the two rivers and the coastline is the Joan Muirhead Nature Reserve, which effectively blocks any property development along the seafront.

The sand dunes, rock pools, sheltered bays and rivers are playgrounds for anyone with a boat, canoe or fishing rod, and the views go wonderfully with a sundowner, too.

On top of all this, Big Five game reserves border both rivers, and in the surrounding valley bushveld you can tick off about 200 bird species.

Outside of the holiday season, Kenton (and nearby Bushmans River, Boknes and Cannon Rocks) is tranquil. In the Spar supermarket most of the shoppers are pensioners and on a Saturday the bowling greens see more activity than the beaches.

But during December and January it’s another story. Thousands of holidaymakers descend on Kenton. Lights flicker on in houses that have been shuttered for months, boats putter up and down the rivers, the queues at the Spar grow longer, and the beaches are packed.

But does all the extra activity detract from the town’s laid-back atmosphere? Not a bit!

6 things to do in and around Kenton:

1.Walk on a secluded beach

Here are some prestine beaches to swim and snorkel in!

The Kariega and Bushmans rivers flow into the sea about 1 km from each other, and between the two river mouths a whole day of exploring awaits.

First, pay a visit to the Kenton Tourism office ( 046 648 2411) and pick up a brochure with a map that indicates every pool, inlet and rock formation along the coastline.
Follow the signs in town and park at one of three places: the “Blue Flag” Kariega Main Beach, Middle Beach, or near Corner Rocks on the Bushmans River’s side. Then start walking.
If you walk from Middle Beach in the direction of the Bushmans River, the sandstone slopes and rock formations will regularly make you stop for a photo.
Blue Pool and Mermaid’s Pool are good places for a swim and snorkelling. Try to identify Carriage Rock – which looks exactly as its name suggests.
Shelley Bay, a sheltered inlet and one of the most popular places to swim around here, is another highlight.
From Shelly Bay, walk over a dune and through a milkwood forest – which is in the Joan Muirhead Nature Reserve – back to your car.
Look for the remains of shell middens left behind by the first nomadic visitors to this coastline, and see if you can spot blue duiker or Cape grysbok.

GO! says: Best of all? There’s not an over-the-top beach house in sight.

For the other 5 fun thing Erns did in Kenton on Sea, click here:

http://www.gomag.co.za/towns/story/26

Or click here for the Afrikaans version:

http://www.weg.co.za/dorpe/storie/49

KENTON’s KARIEGA MAIN BEACH presently holds Blue Flah status. Read more

Situated between two spectacular tidal rivers,the Kariega and the Bushmans, Kenton-on-Sea offers a picture perfect village setting for a fantastic family holiday.

Kenton-on-Sea is a holiday village situated between 2 rivers – the tidal Bushmans (navigable for 32 kms), and Kariega River (navigable for 16kms), with a proclaimed nature reserve in between.  Unspoilt beaches with caves, rock pools (excellent for snorkelling), plus sheltered bays created by unusual rock formations.  A perfect holiday destination for everyone, offering a large variety of activities.  Hikes along the beaches, up river and inland.  Fishing (deep sea, reef and river), horse riding through nearby game reserves and along pristine beaches.  Mountain biking, a wide variety of sea and river sports, canoeing, birding and game viewing.   Big 5 game reserves are only 10 minutes inland.  These villages and towns have the Big 7 as well, as the southern right whales are here from April to December, plus the Great White Sharks that breed in Algoa Bay to the south, which are added to the Big 5. Good viewing of whales, and dolphins throughout the year.  A perfect ‘beach and bush’ holiday combination.

Here the ‘sun spends the winter’. So if you can’t make it there during your summer vacation, don’t stress, you will still have a wonderful outdoor experience during the winter. The climate is mild and temperate.

Midway between Port Elizabeth and East London, Kenton-on-Sea is easy to reach along the coastal road between these two cities. The nearest airport is in Port Elizabeth with regular flights to and from the major city centres.

Our closest city neighbour is Grahamstown – it is named a city only because of the magnificent Cathedral in the centre of the town. Grahamstown is a small University town steeped in South African history & plays host to the famous National Arts Festival, which is the largest international Arts Festival other than the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland.

The immediate inland vicinity is richly populated by game reserves, where luxury accommodation is available. The area is malaria free – no malaria medication is necessary when you visit us. The game reserves are well stocked with game, some have the Big Five. The Eastern Cape area boasts 5 out of the 6 different biomes of the world, which makes for a diverse African experience.

History

The Butt family owned the land  which is now Kenton.  It was called “BUTTS” till it was sold to a Mr Tilt, born in 1867. He lived in a village called Kenton, near Exeter in Devon, England.  The village of Kenton on Sea was only formally ‘registered for sale’  in 1946.  It was called Kenton on Sea after his village of the same name in the UK as he is understood to feel that he would never return there and that this would be his home.  He is buried in Grahamstown.

2 (twin) Norfolk Pines were planted up in front of where the  Kenton Hotel was to be built and became a NAVIGATIONAL AID for sailors.  Kenton therefore appears on all standard charts, including British Admiralty charts, of the South African Coastline.  They are still therefore used as navigational ‘aids’ or beacons.
KARIEGA means ‘place of Bushbuck’ – also SAN or Standloper name.

GPS Co-ordinates for Kenton-on-Sea:  26° 40 mins East and 33° 41 mins South

Bushmans Village is located on the west bank of the Bushmans River with Kenton-on-Sea across the river.  It was established in 1897 when farmers from the interior were given permission by the Department of Forestry who owned the land, to camp along the banks during the Christmas holidays.  As no facilities existed, they brought all their provisions by oxwagons and camped at the mouth of the river.  Land leases were signed in the early 1900’s, resulting in private land ownership and eventually the development of the village itself, a part of which extends across the R72 Sunshine Coastal Road, along the banks of the river.  The supply of electricity and running water were only laid on in the early 1980’s.  Today the village is a picturesque mixture of quaint attractive old holiday homes, and modern upmarket accommodation.
Fishing is excellent, plus all water sports, canoeing, hiking, and horse riding trails along the unspoilt beaches and inland, making this a wonderful holiday destination for the whole family.

There have been many shipwrecks along this coastline and the best known one is the barque VOLO which went aground on the beach at Kwaaihoek. It was built in Norway and some families living in Bushmans are related to the survivors (all survived including the ships cat who people reckon is the father of all cats here!)  Families came out from Norway a couple of years ago for a ‘reunion’ here in Bushmans.  The anchor was found 100 later and now stands in front of the old town hall in the middle of Bushmans.  At the same place is a monument to the Voortrekkers as well which most people don’t know about.

A scenic, busy commercial town, and holiday destination.  There are many river and deep sea water sports available with a small boat harbour near the attractive Marina.  The town is flanked by beautiful beaches on either side of the Kowie River which flows through the centre of the town.  It is navigable for more than 20 kms and popular with boaters, fishing enthusiasts and water skiing.  The point- break at Eastern Beach has some of the best surfing in the country.  Excellent deep sea scuba diving experiences  are popular.  There are a variety of hiking trails nearby, along the beaches and inland.  The Royal Port Alfred Golf Course is one of only four ‘Royals’ in the country, with wonderful sea views.   The 43 Air School on the outskirts of the town on the way to Bathurst, was opened in 1942 as part of the Joint Air Training Scheme during World War 11.  After that, in 1988, it became an airline pilot training school, with pupils from around the world.
Nearby are the attractive private Mansfield, Kap River, and Round Hill Oribi Reserves, plus the Great Fish River Complex of game reserves.

Port Alfred was first named Port Francis as during the 1820 settler era it was intended to have the main harbour for the Eastern Cape there but then Port Elizabeth was chosen later as more suitable.  Prince Alfred visited P.A. in 1860 and it was then renamed Port Alfred in his honour.

These two small holiday hamlets are both very popular among fishing enthusiasts.  CANNON ROCKS is increasingly popular for kite surfing in particular, as it is now known  worldwide as one of the best destinations in the world for this sport.  From BOKNES, a walk along the beach to a promontory at Kwaaihoek, takes you to the Dias Cross erected there in 1488 by Bartolommeo Dias.  He was on a voyage following the spice route to India, but blown off course around the Cape of Good Hope, and finally made landfall here. This Padrao Sao Gregorio cross crashed onto the rocks below years later.  Some 5000 fragments were recovered, being about 75% of this original Dias beacon, and reconstructed by Prof Eric Axelson and kept at the University of the Witwatersrand. In 1944 a replica was built, and re-erected on the original site, which is now part of the Marine section of the Addo Elephant National Park.

Kiteboarding (kitesurfing) is one of the fastest growing sports in the world and Cannon Rocks is regarded as a prime windsurfing and kitesurfing destination in South Africa.

The Cannon Rocks Kiteboarding Classic will be held in January 2011 and this will become an annual festival for riders from all over the world.  Although the event will be competition driven, it is the intention of the organizers to have free expression sessions and fun related events for all riding levels, as well as to offer entertainment for the public.

BATHURST

The British 1820 Settlers landed in Algoa Bay (Port Elizabeth), travelled by oxwagon up the coast, crossed the Kowie River in Port Alfred, and established the small village of Bathurst, only a 10 minute drive away from Port Alfred today.  It became an administrative centre, and buffer between the Cape Colony and the Xhosa people who migrated across the Great Fish River. Many of the original settler houses and other buildings, have been preserved and so it retains much of the look and feel of an English village . There are many historical monuments scattered in and around Bathurst, with the Pig n Whistle being the oldest licensed premises in South Africa.  Other places of historical interest include St. Johns Church, the oldest unaltered church in South Africa, and the Wesleyan Chapel, both of which were used as places of refuge during the numerous Frontier Wars which took place when the indigenous Xhosa peoples crossed the Great Fish River, which formed the Cape Colony Boundary, in search of grazing for their cattle. Bradshaw’s Mill contains a working water wheel and is a National Monument, as are many other buildings in the village.
The Toposcope, erected on a hill on the outskirts of the village, marks the spot the 1820 Settlers locations were surveyed, and here plaques record details of these settlements.  Some travelled further inland to farm in the rural areas around Bathurst, while others decided to remain and ply their trades there.  Later more settlers departed for Grahamstown when it became the military administrative centre, replacing Bathurst as such.  On a clear day, one can see from the Great Fish River in the east to Kwaaihoek near Boknes and Bushmans River villages in the west.
The Agricultural Museum is well worth a visit.  The largest man made pineapple in the world stands in the grounds of the Pineapple Experimental Farm on the outskirts of the village.  This is the centre of the pineapple industry and videos are shown in the Big Pineapple as it is known.  From here there is a spectacular 360 degree view of the surrounding farms, Port Alfred, and the Indian Ocean beyond.
A short distance from the village centre is the Water’s Meeting Nature Reserve and Horse Shoe Bend, with wonderful views of the Kowie River below.  There are many hikes in the area and with the indigenous forest around the village, and down to the river, makes this a bird watchers paradise.  The Moya Park Reserve is a must for ardent twitches.
Many well known artists and crafters have settled here, and many attractive shops and studios are found in the main street, as well as a variety of restaurants.  Something for everyone to enjoy, and only half an hour’s drive to the former ‘frontier’ town of Grahamstown, which was the second largest in the country after Cape Town way back when.   It developed as a military base and many people moved there from Bathurst eventually as many where artisans.  As a result many churches, schools and Rhodes University were established as it grew in size.  The National Arts Festival, second only to the Edinburgh Festival, is takes place here each year in July.  Bathurst is thus on the border of the area now known as Frontier Country, so called after many wars between the British and Xhosa peoples  in the region from the Great Fish River, border of the Cape Colony, over a period of 100 years.  The Great Fish Point lighthouse stands 76 meters above sea level at the mouth of the river. which is 25 kms east of Port Alfred.  Fort d’Acre, was one of many forts built here and along this river, to the interior of the then ‘Cape Colony’.

KASOUGA/KLEINEMONDE

These are farming areas with a variety of homes and holiday accommodation near the sea, and along the banks of their respective rivers.  Farming here is in the  main pineapple, chicory and beef cattle.  Many of the farms have small game on them, and Kasouga has the largest population of the endangered small Oribi and Antelope in the country.   These are unspoilt holiday destinations popular with families in particular, who enjoy all that being ‘beside the sea’ has to offer, plus accommodation on some of the working farms nearby as well.

Previously called a similar name by the Standlopers which then turned into Kasouga which means ‘Place of the Leopard’!  People way back when and till today call it ‘a nature lovers paradise as it is not commercialised – “A place to allow you to be yourself” one young lady is quoted as saying.  It is considered by some to be one of the earliest Eastern Cape Resorts!  An elephant tusk was discovered in the area about 10 years ago and estimated by the Albany Museum to be about 200 years old – so this area was really full of elephants.

ALEXANDRIA

Originally named Oliefants Hoek because of more than 200,000 elephant which lived in the area.  Fresh water springs in the dunes at Woody Cape, was their water supply, and for Alexandria itself.  It is a small farming village, established in the mid 18th Century, with both Voortrekker and 1820 British Settler history.  Karl Landman (his monument is nearby), one of the first Voortrekkers who left the Cape, settled here for a while.   Prior to this the area was inhabited by the San and Khoi, plus the Xhosa peoples.  Some of the best dairy farms in the country are found here, plus it is the centre of the chicory industry.  The second largest chicory factory in the world is on the outskirts of town.  Nearby is the southernmost pineapple farm in the southern hemisphere.  Of historical interest are the old Dutch Reformed and Anglican Churches, with the Sculpture Gardens where the renowned sculptor Maureen Quin’s artworks form a unique display,  a must see attraction.
A short drive down to the Indian Ocean, takes you to Woody Cape Nature Reserve, 25 000 ha in extent, which is now part of the Marine Section of the Addo Elephant National Park.   The Alexandria dune fields which extend from Algoa Bay to Woody Cape, are bordered by coastal indigenous forest, and are the largest, shifting coastal dune fields in the Southern Hemisphere.  They consist of a surface area of about 15 800 ha, stretching over 50 km in length, with a width of up to 4 km in places.  It is the site of many shell middens dating back 5 000 years and evidence left by the San people who lived there along the coast.  The 2 day Alexandria Hiking Trail begins at the SANParks Office in the Woody Cape Forest, as does the 8 km ‘Tree Dassie Trail’ through the forest itself.  A considerable diversity of birds, including the westernmost population of the trumpeter hornbill, plus crowned hornbills, crowned eagles, Stanley’s bustard, narina trogon and Damara terns, are found here.   Mammals found here includes bush pig, bushbuck, Cape Grysbok, steenbok, common duiker, and  the Vervet monkey.