Coastal Villages

The other day I took you to visit the little seaside village of Schoenies. Today I went out to Seaview, which is a bit further along the coast, so I thought I'd take you along for the ride!

As you know by now, I have a thing about maps, so just to set the scene and put things in perspective, here is a map of the coast, from St Francis Bay in the West, (Which I have already written about ad nauseam!) eastwards towards Cape Receife, where the bay sweeps north in a big curve, into Nelson Mandela Bay. (courtesy of Google Earth, one of my all time favourite toys!!)

Zooming in a bit, here is the stretch from the Gamtoos River Mouth to Cape Receife (Clickable to see a larger view)

The city of Port Elizabeth stretches as far as Mount Pleasant, which is the end of the built up area, and then one travels through an area of unspoilt coastal bush, scattered with smallholdings and farms, towards Seaview and Beachview, which are technically part of the outlying suburbs of PE.

One of the surprising things about this stretch of coast, considering how stunning it is, is that it is remarkably undeveloped and unspoiled. (Not that I am complaining, just surprised that the greedy developers haven't discovered it yet, I hope it stays that way for a long time to come!)

There is a long stretch of coastline before the next spot, called Sardinia Bay. Along here there are many lovely properties, it is a very upmarket area of smallholdings, but the beach itself is undeveloped. I'll share some pix of that later, as I have to find and scan them still.

You travel through Deer Park, which has smallholdings on the landward side and a farm on the sea side, towards the next little settlement, called Kini Bay. It is just a small cluster of beach houses surrounded by pristine bush.

The coastal bush here is very much as it must have been when the 1820 settlers arrived, it is dense, but has no tall trees. Not really inviting if you want to form a town! And because this part of the coastline is known for its strong winds, the sand blowing off the dunes was, according to the early accounts, almost unbearable!

After Kini Bay, you travel on, until you enter the little village of Seaview. This is bigger than Schoenies, it even has a Hotel (currently between owners, and in a state of dis-repair) and a supermarket. But it remains a friendly little village where most of the neighbours know each other.

Looking to the left, you can see right up to Jeffries Bay on a clear day (a world renowned surf spot!)

And the reason for our trip to Seaview? You guessed it, her name is Amelia Kai.

Her mom and dad hired a cottage overlooking the rocks there, and as we stood looking at the waves, we were enchanted to see a huge group of dolphins surfing there! Lucky girl, what an amazing place to start your life on this planet!