Beacon Island

One of the best known landmarks in Plettenberg Bay on the Garden Route is the Beacon Isle Hotel.  Beacon Island is at the mouth of the Piesang River and has a history that goes back to 1771.  In that year the first navigational beacon was erected on the island.  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 and chronometers.  It also gave Beacon Island its name.  The wooden beacon was replaced by Captain Sewell with a stone one in 1881 and has been replaced a couple of times over the years.  It can be seen in the gardens of the hotel.

Whaling in the bay was started by John Sinclair with the first cargo of whale oil leaving the shores of Plettenberg Bay in 1834.  A number of other men continued to whale in the bay, but it was Cornelius Watson and Percy Toplis who managed to obtain the first lease to use Beacon Island as a whaling station.  In 1908 the Thesen family of Knysna bought the whaling station from Toplis and invested heavily into what they hoped would be a lucrative whaling business.   

Over an 8-year period, they brought in seven whaling steamers from Norway, a meat boiling plant, an electric-lighting plant and a team of renowned Norwegian whalers.  Unfortunately their operation didn't last long and whaling was halted in 1916.  The Norwegians had underestimated the whaling potential of the bay and World War I prevented the export of oil to England during that period.  One of the original iron pots used to boil the whale blubber can still be seen on the grounds of the hotel along with a couple of harpoons.

When the Norwegians took over the whaling station they imported a house from Norway which was occupied by the project manager Captain Jacob Odland.  The house remained when whaling ceased and became Hopwood’s boarding house, a forerunner of the Angler’s Inn.  The first Beacon Island Hotel was erected by Hugh Owen Grant in 1940 and the present hotel was built in 1972.

While I was trawling the internet for information on Beacon Island, I found the picture above on The Van Plettenberg Historical Society website of it as it was during the hub of whaling operations (1913-16).

Old Timber Shed

Another one of the historic sites in Plettenberg Bay that I'm sure very few people are aware of is the Old Timber Shed.  Located in Meeding Street close to the beachfront, it was built by Johan Jacob Jerling in 1787.  The building was used to store timber for the Dutch East India Company with the first timber being shipped out in August 1788.  Unfortunately the project had limited success and failed to survive the colony’s First British Occupation in 1795.

The Timber Shed was declared a national monument in 1936.  There isn't much left of the building except for the stone walls and a couple of windows, but I was quite impressed with how neat the area both inside as well as around the building is kept.

I couldn't resist getting a "through the window" photo as well

Van Plettenberg Beacon

Please put your hands up if you've been to Plettenberg Bay or live in the town and have visited the Van Plettenberg Beacon... or even know it exists.  I bet there isn't too many hands up right now.  The beacon can be seen at the lookout point on the corner of Hopwood and Meeding Street.

During 1778, Governor Joachim Baron van Plettenberg visited many of the outposts throughout the Cape Colony.  He arrived in the bay, then known as Bahia Formosa (Beautiful Bay as named by early Portuguese explorers) on 5 November 1778.  After inspecting the bay and surrounding area, he erected this slate possesional stone indicating that the bay henceforth would belong to the Dutch East India Company.  From that day on the town also bore his name, Plettenberg Bay.

Enjoying sunrise

Having only two nights in Plettenberg Bay and with lots of rain about, the chance of getting a beautiful sunrise over the bay was very slim.  I still set my alarm early enough for the first morning to head down to the beach for sunrise.  There were clouds about but enough sky peeking through, so the odds looked good.  One drawback though was that I didn't have an object to put in the foreground.  I did have my tripod though, so it was a case of focus, press button and 10 seconds to get into position.  Somebody looking down from the houses next to the beach must have had a good laugh at this guy running up and down the beach.  This is one of my two favorites.  The other one I'll keep for another time.

St Peter's Anglican Church

Most people visiting visiting Plettenberg Bay either end up on the beach or visiting one of the very good attractions in the area like Monkeyland, Birds of Eden, The Elephant Sanctuary and many more. Not many search out the interesting historical sites in the town as they aren't really promoted that much. The Damselfly and I had an alone (and very wet I have to add) weekend away without the Rugrats courtesy of GAA Plettenberg Bay and made use of the opportunity to look up a couple of these lesser known attractions.

The first place we found was the St Peter's Anglican Church which wasn't even marked on the tourist map that we had.  I searched the internet a bit, but couldn't find much info on it except for the fact that the first service was held in this sturdy little stone church in 1881.

St Peter's reminded me quite a lot of the little Belvidere Church in Knysna.  The church with its beautiful stone work, slate roof and stained glass windows is also surrounded by a number of old graves, but that will have to wait for another visit.

Walkway to sunrise

One of the boardwalk walkways leading down to Solar Beach in Plettenberg Bay at sunrise

Black-Backed Jackal

Warning: The second picture may be disturbing to sensitive viewers

One of the smaller animals to look out for on a visit to the Addo Elephant National Park is the Black-Backed Jackal.  Named for the "mantle" of black flecked with white stretching from the back of his neck to his tail, the jackal is active both during the day and at night.  Their "nyaaaa-aa-aa-aa" call is probably one of the most distinctive bush sounds in Africa.  This individual came trotting through the veld and paused...

... before making his way over to a kudu carcass (lion kill perhaps) lying a little way off the road.