Summer at the seaside – by Erns Grundling
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:
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