Often these two names are used interchangeably, but for the pedantic type, here’s the explanation.
St Francis Bay is the town that nestles between the estuary of the Kromme River and the Cape (definition: a headland or promontory of large size extending into a body of water, usually the sea). This means that you actually have St Francis Bay and Cape St Francis Bay, and to add to the confusion, there is a Port St Francis which includes a commercial and recreational harbour and was originally built to accommodate large “frozen fresh” fishing vessels.
Ok, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about this stunning part of the coast. The town itself has been developed with a canal system which gives visitors the opportunity to enjoy all things aquatic, literally on their doorstep.
Fancy fishing off your own jetty? Canoeing down to the beach or up the river? Or maybe just visiting your friend for a beer. The Kromme mouth offers great fishing, boating, paddling, kite surfing, wind surfing, jet skis – in fact, think water, think fun and you pretty much have all the options available.
The best surfing in the world!
For many people, however, Cape St Francis is synonymous with surfing and the surf documentary, The Endless Summer (1966), which featured the “10 million to one” wave and put this surfing destination firmly on the map. In fact, The Endless Summer is still so revered within the surfing fraternity that it has been digitally remastered and was even shown on a giant screen in Times Square in 2010.
The legendary tubes, known as Bruce’s Beauties, have surfers flocking from all over the world, but you had better know what you are doing when you try and tackle one of these.
