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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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