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Plettenberg Bay Plettenbergbaai | |
|---|---|
    From top, Plettenberg Bay viewed from Robberg Peninsula.Keurbooms River mouth (middle left). Beacon Island Resort (middle right). Entrance toNelson Bay Cave stone age archaeological site (bottom). | |
  Plettenberg Bay  Plettenberg Bay  Plettenberg Bay | |
| Coordinates:34°03′S23°22′E / 34.050°S 23.367°E /-34.050; 23.367 | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Western Cape |
| District | Garden Route |
| Municipality | Bitou |
| Area | |
• Total | 39.7 km2 (15.3 sq mi) |
| Population (2024)[1] | |
• Total | 64,108 |
| • Density | 1,610/km2 (4,180/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 60.3% |
| • Coloured | 21.6% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.4% |
| • White | 16.0% |
| • Other | 1.6% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Xhosa | 53.7% |
| • Afrikaans | 27.4% |
| • English | 13.0% |
| • Other | 5.9% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 6600 |
| PO box | 6600 |
Plettenberg Bay, nicknamedPlett,[2] is the primary town of theBitou Local Municipality in theWestern Cape Province ofSouth Africa. According to the census of 2001, the town had a population of 29,149. It was originally namedBahia Formosa ("Beautiful Bay") by earlyPortuguese explorers and lies on South Africa'sGarden Route 210 km fromPort Elizabeth and about 600 km fromCape Town.
Nelson Bay Cave on Robberg and Matjies River Cave at nearbyKeurboomstrand were inhabited for over 100,000 years byMiddle Stone Age man and then later by ancestors of theKhoisan, who were possibly the same people who traded with thePortuguese survivors of the Sao Goncalves shipwreck. Their tools, ornaments and food debris can be viewed in these caves, which are still being excavated.
Long beforeJan van Riebeeck landed at the Cape,Portuguese explorers charted the bay in the 15th and 16th centuries, the first beingBartolomeu Dias in 1487. Ninety years laterManuel de Perestrelo aptly called itBahia Formosa or the Beautiful Bay. The firstEuropean inhabitants were 100 Portuguese sailors marooned here for 9 months when theSão Gonçalo sank in the bay in June 1630.[3][4] The survivors built two small boats, one which linked with a passing vessel while the other made it toMozambique.[4] A stone that they left behind on Beacon Island, known as theVan Plettenberg Stone, is now in the Cape Town museum. In 1763, the firstEuropean settlers in the Bay were stock farmers, hunters and frontiersmen from theWestern Cape.
Astinkwood navigational beacon was first erected on Beacon Island in 1771. The original was a square block of stinkwood, inscribed with the latitude and longitude of Plettenberg Bay and erected to enable mariners to check their location. It was replaced by a stone one by Captain Sewell in 1881.
The bay housed a barracks for theDutch East India Company in 1776. The Governor of the Cape, BaronJoachim van Plettenberg, renamed the town Plettenberg Bay in 1779. In 1869 the barracks was bought by St Peters Church and used as arectory for the next 70 years.[5] Today it is the privately owned Old Rectory hotel & spa.
In 1787/88 Johann Jerling erected a timber shed commissioned by theDutch East India Company; the remains can still be seen and are preserved as aprovincial heritage site.[6]
In the 1830s, Plettenberg Bay was a stopping point for ships travelling through during the winter time, heading to India.[6]
As of 1833, the population of Plettenberg Bay was estimated around 400, with half beingwhite, according to diplomatEdmund Roberts who visited the area.[7]Edmund Roberts noted that the bay had a large abundance of cattle and sheep. He also recognized "the excellence of its butter" and a timber industry.[7]
A whaling station on Beacon Island closed down in 1916. Parts of the iron slipway are still visible today. A hotel called The Beacon Isle was built on the site of the whaling station. This was replaced by the iconic Beacon Isle Southern Sun Resort which opened for business in December 1972. This building, designed by André Hoffe, has a layered atrium which pays tribute to the Guggenheim Museum of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Between 1960 and 1990 Plettenberg Bay holiday resort expanded dramatically, extending along Robberg Beach ('Millionaire's Row'), and back towards the N2. During the apartheid period property within Plettenberg Bay was designated for whites only, with segregation of the beaches and toilet facilities. New Horizons, across the N2, was designated as a settlement area for coloured people in 1968. As the 1980s progressed informal settlements of Xhosa people grew up around the edges of New Horizons and in the area of KwaNokuthula which became a town.
Although Plettenberg Bay escaped most of the violence associated with the end of apartheid, the assassination ofChris Hani in April 1993 led to a protest march into the town from KwaNokuthula, during which industrial premises on the outskirts of the town were burnt to the ground. Formal segregation ceased with the repeal of the apartheid laws, but the consequences of the previously segregated property ownership remain highly visible to this day.
Local vegetation varies from CapeFynbos toKnysna-Amatole montane forests further inland. The best examples of the original indigenous forest are to be found in the gully of the Keurbooms River, home to Knysna Loerie and Fish Eagles. Robberg Peninsula is essentially a Fynbos reserve.
Plettenberg Bay hosts one of the largestseagull breeding colonies along the South African coast at the mouth of theKeurbooms River, named after the indigenouskeurboom tree. There are many pelagic birds in the area as well as the endangeredAfrican oystercatcher which live along the shores.
The Keurbooms River estuary is home to the Knysna or Cape Seahorse, Hippocampus Capensis. This is South Africa's only endemic seahorse, and is found only in the estuaries of the Keurbooms, Knysna and Swartvlei rivers. It measures about 12 cm in length, and attaches itself to eel-grass.
The Robberg Peninsula is home to a largeCape fur seal colony, seals can often be seen in the surf off Robberg Beach.Great white sharks, attracted by the seal colony, can also be spotted from the high ground of Robberg Peninsula.Southern right whales are a common sight in the bay during their breeding season from July to December.Bryde's whales frequent the bay throughout the year being the most sighted during the summer months.Humpback whales migrate past during July and December.Killer whales (orca) andsei whales are occasionally sighted. Whales can be viewed from various viewpoints in the town as well as from Robberg Peninsula. Plettenberg Bay also boasts three species of dolphins which visit the bay throughout the year, these being thebottlenosed dolphin, thecommon dolphin and the endangeredhumpback dolphin.
The bay falls within theAgulhas Bank ecoregion (bioregion), specifically within the Agulhas inshore ecozone. There has been a long history of sport fishing from the rocks, ski boats launched from Central Beach, or in Keurbooms estuary. The sea life activity both surface and sub-surface varies considerably as either deep water upwelling brings cold water into the Bay, or warm water eddies over from the Agulhas Indian Ocean current offshore.
A distinctive flower-shaped sea shell called apansy shell is endemic to this part of the coast, and is used as the symbol representing the town. Looking for these shells on the beach at low tide is a popular activity amongst visitors and locals alike.
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Plettenberg Bay is typified by an extremely mild maritimetemperate climate with very few rainfall or temperature extremes. It is located within theKnysna Afromontane Forest biome, containing temperate gallery forest, supported by the mild temperatures and high, evenly distributed rainfall.
The bay is defined on the southern end by Cape Seal at the terminus of the Robberg (Afrikaans for Seal Mountain) Peninsula, separating the bay from the openIndian Ocean. It is one of the southern cape coast's typical "J-shaped" bays, which is formed by wave action eroding theshales of theBokkeveld Group between the weather-resistant headlands composed of theTable Mountain Group, both of theCape Supergroup geological sequence of rocks. To the north, theTsitsikamma andLangkloof Mountains keeps the moisture on the southern slopes of the mountains and prevent the temperature extremes of the interior reaching the bay.
| Climate data for Plettenberg Bay | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 23 (73) | 21 (70) | 19 (66) | 18 (64) | 18 (64) | 18 (64) | 18 (64) | 20 (68) | 21 (70) | 22 (72) | 21 (69) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 18 (64) | 18 (64) | 18 (64) | 16 (61) | 14 (57) | 12 (54) | 12 (54) | 12 (54) | 13 (55) | 14 (57) | 15 (59) | 17 (63) | 15 (59) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 47.2 (1.86) | 47.5 (1.87) | 52.6 (2.07) | 48.2 (1.90) | 50.3 (1.98) | 65.3 (2.57) | 69.8 (2.75) | 60.2 (2.37) | 54.1 (2.13) | 61.6 (2.43) | 62.9 (2.48) | 47.9 (1.89) | 667.6 (26.3) |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 76.8 | 76.9 | 76.6 | 71.9 | 69.2 | 64.3 | 64.7 | 67.2 | 71.9 | 73.9 | 74.4 | 76.9 | 72.1 |
| Averagedew point °C (°F) | 15.3 (59.5) | 15.8 (60.4) | 15.1 (59.2) | 13.8 (56.8) | 11.3 (52.3) | 9.1 (48.4) | 8.3 (46.9) | 8.9 (48.0) | 10.5 (50.9) | 11.6 (52.9) | 13.0 (55.4) | 14.2 (57.6) | 12.2 (54.0) |
| Mean dailydaylight hours | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 | 10.8 | 10.4 | 10.6 | 11.3 | 12.3 | 13.4 | 14.4 | 14.9 | 12.7 |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 64.4 | 63.8 | 61.1 | 61.3 | 60.9 | 61.5 | 65 | 64.5 | 58.9 | 59.1 | 61.6 | 64.4 | 62.2 |
| Source: world weather online(2009–2023)[8] Weatherbase(sunhine-dew point-humidity)[9] | |||||||||||||
The town is highly seasonal, with a large proportion of second homes used exclusively during peak holiday periods. Popular with domestic and foreign tourists alike, many make it a stop along the garden route to visit local attractions such as Robberg Peninsula Nature Reserve,[10] the world's largest free-flight aviaryBirds of Eden,[11] Sea Kayaking and Whale Watching,[12] as a base to start the coastalOtter Trail,Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary or a host of other outdoor activities on offer.[13] AlthoughGeorge andPort Elizabeth Airports are both within 1 and 2.5 hours drive away and offer frequent domestic and select international flights,CemAir also restarted regular direct flights fromPlettenberg Bay Aerodrome toCape Town International Airport and Johannesburg'sOR Tambo Airport in 2014, enhancing accessibility by air.[14]
The following primary and secondary schools are located in Plettenberg Bay.
Not everybody in Plet is satisfied with the project, however. [...] "They feel crowded by the development and believe some parts of the Eastern Cape are still like the Plet they knew," he said.
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Municipalities and communities ofGarden Route District Municipality,Western Cape | ||
|---|---|---|
District seat:George | ||
| Bitou | .svg) | |
| George | ||
| Hessequa | ||
| Kannaland | ||
| Knysna | ||
| Mossel Bay | ||
| Oudtshoorn | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
