Galleries and Museums
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Jeffreys Bay Only a surfer truly knows the feeling! If you’re in ‘J-Bay’ to catch the tubes or even if you’ve never tried surfing, the Quicksilver Store on De Gama Road is worth a visit. It is home to the highly informative Jeffrey’s Bay Surf Museum which tells the story of how surfing started in J-Bay and how the town has developed over the past 50 years.
There are many reasons why this surf-driven town just had to have a surf museum. Essentially, Jeffrey’s Bay is one of the top surfing destinations on the planet. Supertubes, the famous point break right-hander, is the dream destination of every young surfer – the perfect wave often accompanied by dolphins.
J-Bay is the place where the top 44 international surfers compete every year for the WCT world contest surfing tour. Along with local lore, the museum also documents the history of surfing globally and pays tribute to many pioneers and legends.
Walk through this museum and feel the magic that exists between the surfer and the ocean.
Entrance to the museum is free! Open Monday to Friday 09:00 – 17:00, Saturday 09:00 – 14:00 and Sunday 09:00 – 13:00.
+27 (0) 84 240 1741
Popular Attractions
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Jeffreys Bay Enter a whole new wonderful world – under the sea with Steve Potts’s dive charter and Scuba diving school. You’ll be in good hands; Steve has more than 4000 dives and is one of CMAS-ISA's top instructors.
Courses include 1 Star, 2 Star, 3 Star, Dive Masters, Nitrox, Advanced Nitrox, Rescue, O2 Administration, Night Diver, Wreck Diver, 2 Star Instructor and Compressor Operator.
Things to do near
Jeffreys Bay
*Distances are shown as the crow flies and not necessarily the actual travelling
distance.
Beaches
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Paradise Beach (8.3 km from Jeffreys Bay) Paradise Beach is a long sandy beach situated between Jeffreys Bay and St Francis Bay. It’s actually a suburb of J-Bay but is relatively untouched by development.
Surrounded by nature reserves and estuaries, you can often spot tiny buck, tortoises, numerous birds, rabbits, mongoose and otters – all much loved by locals. It’s an awesome place for windsurfers and kite boarders with good wind all year round. A not-yet-discovered windsurfing and kite surfing spot!
Paradise Beach is one of the coastal towns where you are guaranteed to spend a relaxing day on a pristine white beach. The name explains it all – it really feels like paradise.
Beaches
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Gamtoos Mouth (13.9 km from Jeffreys Bay) At the mouth of the Gamtoos River lies a stunning beach with a huge stretch of soft white sand, perfect for lengthy strolls. The scenic lagoon and river offer safe swimming, boating and canoeing.
Beaches
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St Francis Bay (17.8 km from Jeffreys Bay) Holidaymakers from across South Africa come to to enjoy the beautiful golden beach and attractions of St Francis Bay.
Excellent water-sport facilities in the ocean and at Kromme River, pristine nature reserves and the historic lighthouse all contribute to making this one of the most magical locations on the Sunshine Coast.
Surfers are drawn to this part of the coast for the legendary waves, often joined by playful dolphins. Whales can be seen close to shore during winter and spring. Some good fishing spots can be found off the rocks.
Shops
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St Francis Bay (18.9 km from Jeffreys Bay) St Francis Bay's Friendly Supermarket offers a variety of freshly baked speciality breads, rolls, cakes and tarts as well as fresh fruit and vegetables. A selection of freshly made home meals and take aways are available on a daily basis.
Golf Courses
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St Francis Bay (19.8 km from Jeffreys Bay) Designed by Jack Nicklaus, the challenging St Francis Links Course is characterised by undulating terrain, greens and variation in length and direction.
The consistent layout combines every element of shot making. The bunkers define the quality and character of this course, looking as if they have been ploughed out of the ground.
The greens have simply been placed on top of the sand and follow the natural flow of the landscape. All players will find that St Francis Links present a stiff mental and physical test from the first shot.
Facilities at St Francis Links include the Clubhouse, Lighthouse Restaurant, Jack’s Bar and Pro Shop.
+27 (0) 42 2004500
Nature Reserves
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Cape St Francis (19.9 km from Jeffreys Bay) On the tip of Cape St Francis and sandwiched between a plethora of coastal holiday houses is the lovely Cape St Francis Nature Reserve.
This sanctuary is not only rich in botanical and animal life; it offers unhindered views of the ocean. Here the endangered coastal dune forest and fynbos is preserved from further development, providing a home for bushbuck, grysbok, duiker, porcupine, bushpig, monkey, mongoose, caracal and otter.
Twitchers will find plenty to tick off here with 200 bird species recorded. A delightful hiking trail leads to a superb viewpoint and it’s easy to lose yourself for many hours within the reserve.
Bottlenose and common dolphins can often be seen surfing the breaks and southern right whales winter offshore during August to November.
Popular Attractions
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Cape St Francis (22.1 km from Jeffreys Bay) Seal Point at Cape St. Francis is a fairly consistent exposed point break that works best with a northwest wind and south, southeast swell direction. It hardly ever gets crowded, even when it’s ripping.
Bars
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Cape St Francis (22.8 km from Jeffreys Bay) Full Stop Pub and Grill is a vibey watering hole where locals and visitors to Cape St Francis hang out, enjoy drinks, braai, grab a pizza or play pool.
The pub has a pool table, big dance area, and a very big bar of course! Full Stop also has an outside area with lapa and braai facilites.
Golf Courses
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Hankey (22.8 km from Jeffreys Bay) Hankey Country Club's course is rated as one of the best 9-hole courses in the country. This charming old club in the Gamtoos Valley plays host each year to the Hadeda tournament.
Popular Attractions
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Cape St Francis (22.9 km from Jeffreys Bay) A popular tourist attraction, the Seal Point Lighthouse of Cape St Francis is a 27.75 m high tower that was first lit in 1878.
Animal Parks
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Thornhill (23.5 km from Jeffreys Bay) African Dawn is set in a tranquil valley. This beautiful bird and wildlife sanctuary features an endangered cat breeding program and rehabilitation centre. The on-site restaurant offers good meals.
Open daily 09:00 - 17:00.
Beaches
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Blue Horizon Bay (33.7 km from Jeffreys Bay) Van Stadens Beach lies at the mouth of the Van Stadens River and has a wonderful lagoon for swimming, fishing and paddleboats. Tall dunes offer some fun sand boarding. The river is suitable for small boats to navigate upstream to the gorge. Lifeguards are on duty over the peak holiday season.
Nature Reserves
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Port Elizabeth (34.7 km from Jeffreys Bay) Van Staden's Wild Flower Reserve was established in 1951 and is situated 40 km from Port Elizabeth. It is one of the top places to see lowland fynbos, flowering proteas and a variety of other endemic fynbos. Visitors can see a large variety of vegetation in the various habitats of the escarpment. There is an abundance of succulents, ericas, leucadendrons, and other indigenous flora.
The reserve aims to protect the large variety of bird, plant and animal species within the area. Bird watchers can feast their eyes on more than 170 bird species and a number of raptors frolicking in their natural habitat along the rocky gorge. This includes the forest buzzard, jackal buzzard, booted eagle, African crowned eagle, peregrine falcon, black sparrowhawk, and lanner falcon. There is an indigenous coastal forest along the gorge of Van Staden's River. It is home to the Knysna turaco, the Knysna warbler, and the sombre greenbul, among many others.
There is also a nursery in the reserve which sells indigenous flora, and scenic picnic sites on the plateau that are perfect for relaxing over a meal. There are two hiking trails for those who want to explore the reserve. The River Walk is four kilometres long and the Forest Walk is six kilometres. Mountain bikers can explore the plateau section of the reserve, and there are easier sections which are ideal for families to cycle on.
Beaches
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Maitlands (41.5 km from Jeffreys Bay) At the mouth of the Maitland River lies a magnificent bathing beach backed by huge sand dunes stretching for about 5 km West from Beachview to beyond Blue Water Bay.
Kids love the dunes for tobogganing and sand boarding. Maitland River Beach is ideal for leisurely strolls along the waters edge where you can collect sand mussels.
Four By Four Trails
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Patensie (42.6 km from Jeffreys Bay) Gonjah 4x4 Trail offers two trails of 12 km and 20 km, and each takes 4 hours to complete. It is located 12 km from Patensie and is next to the Baviaanskloof Nature Reserve. The 12 km trail leads to the top of a mountain with stunning views. The 20 km trail is more technical and is mostly within the game camp. The trail offers great views of the Gamtoos Valley with lots of twists as it descends into a kloof. The trails have a grading of 2 to 3 and a low range vehicle is required for these self-drive tracks. Please call for further information.