Plettenberg Bay is situated 230 km from Port Elizabeth and approximately 530 km from Cape Town. Plettenberg Bay is renowned for its unique marine reserves and is home to dolphins and seals. The beaches and rivers are a water enthusiast's paradise. Plettenberg Bay offers the visitor plenty of night life, restaurants, pubs and an array of accommodation to suit all lifestyles.
The greater area including surrounding villages and settlements is named Bitou, a name unanimously adopted by all communities. ( Bitou is a prolific and attractive indigenous plant widely occurring in the area. )
The Garden Route is a favoured all year round destination of many local and foreign visitors. The dramatic scenery,easy access by road and air and relaxed holiday atmosphere has a special attraction to busy city dwellers. The well developed towns offer all modern amenities, health care facilities and communications. If you choose you can enjoy the latest movies in air conditioned cinemas or a totally isolated natural unspoilt area within minutes of travel.
Plettenberg Bay has an unrivalled natural beauty and deserves its title as the jewel of the Garden Route.
The Bay acts as a nursery to the Southern Right Whale and they can be seen calving during July to December when these beautiful creatures come into the bay to calve and protect their young. Plettenberg Bay offers outstanding whale watching facilities with ideal viewpoints along the coastline. The Whale Hotline is 0800 228 222 or visit the Information Centre.
The Southern Right Whale (Eubalaena Australis) was harvested in this bay until 1916 when the annual counts were a mere 10 to 40 adult females. Today the total annual population along our coast is about 1700. Other whales often seen include the Brydes, Humpback, Minke and Killer (Orca) whales.
Viewing sites that are easily accessible are:
Robberg Beach - Lookout Viewpoint
Robberg Island - Keurbooms Beach
Beacon Island - Nature's Valley Beach
Lookout Rocks - Storms River Mouth
History
The recorded history of Plettenberg Bay is vague before European settlers arrived but there is evidence of Stone Age settlements, the migratory San tribes and clear physical evidence of the strandloper settlements in accessible locations for interested visitors. These locations also reveal major ocean and climate changes in the area.
The earliest European settlers were shipwrecked Portugese sailors in 1630, who left physical evidence of their visits now kept on display in the municipal offices, their most lasting contribution was to name the bay ''Bahia Formosa'' translated to beautiful bay and the name Formosa is widely used today as Plettenberg Bay is a truly beautiful place.
Plettenberg Bay was eventually named after a Cape Colony Governor Baron Van Plettenberg and that name remains today.
In 1763 the first white settlers in the Bay were stock farmers, hunters and frontiersmen from the Western Cape. The Swede, Carl Peter Thunberg, was the first to document valuable observations on the bay and the Robberg.
The Governor of the Cape, Baron Joachim van Plettenberg, renamed the town Plettenberg Bay in 1779. In 1787 a woodcutter's post was established and Johann Jacob Jerling was commissioned by the Dutch East India Co. to build a storehouse for timber which was first exported in 1788.The timber trade grew leading to Thomas Bain building Prince Alfred Pass (1868) and the 90km forest road through the Tsitsikamma to Humansdorp. Three major passes had to be constructed: Groot Rivier, Blauwkrantz and Storms River. The entire road was complete 16 years later in 1885.
In 1910 Captain Sinclair set up the whaling station on Beacon Island to harvest the placid Southern Right whales but this ceased operation in 1916. The first hotel was erected by Hugh Owen Grant in 1940 and replaced in 1972 by the current well known landmark on Beacon Island.
Visit the Old Timber Store which was built in 1787. A beacon of stone stands in approximately the same place and has the original markings on it. Beacon Island got its first navigational beacon in 1772. There are 27 common species of Ericas in this area and there are a vast number of other flowering species. Amongst the well known trees are the Yellowwood, Stinkwood and the Outeniqua Yellowwood.
30 Pendeen Crescent, P.O.Box 64, Plettenberg Bay, South Africa, 6600
Tel:/ Fax: +27 (0) 44 533 5769, Mobile: +27 (0) 73 255 7793
GPS: LG E 23.21' 53.42 LAT S34.04' 02.14
