Knysna

Knysna holds a very special place in my heart: I spent many family holidays here, lived here for two years, and finally re-relocated to the area in 2016. Still very much a holiday town with a tourism-based economy, the wood industry is still alive and in evidence as well as several successful boat building businesses building large catamaran craft as well as powerboats.

Knysna is 500km up the N2 from Cape Town.
 -34.03555, 23.04922

• Where to stay
• Where to eat
• Where to meet
• What to do
• History & culture

Funnily enough, Knysna was, for many years just another town passed through on the way to family holidays in Plettenberg Bay: Plett had beaches, and only when the weather was less than perfect would we be dragged by parents to Knysna so they could slowly torture us to death (they called it shopping). Later holidays were spent at Waterways in Knysna, and only as we came of drinking age and could jump off the jetty fully clothed into the lagoon after too many beers at Tapas (now the site of the SANParks Head Office), did Knysna finally become bearable.

Now, Knysna is, to me, the very heart of the Garden Route. The area consists of rugged, forested mountains on a beautiful coastline with a pristine estuary.

Over the last 10 years, the small town has seen some dramatic development, with the new waterfront being built, as well as the Thesen Island Marina. It has all the modern trappings, including shopping malls with big-name chain stores, but you are still able to enjoy some of the original charms of the town.

The Knysna Lagoon is an estuary and not a lagoon at all, with its (permanently open) entrance to the ocean through the dramatic, iconic Knysna Heads.

This is Dalene Matthee country: if you have not yet read her books, get your hands on a copy of Kringe in ‘n Bos (translated into English: “Circles in a Forest”), Fiela se Kind (translated into English: “Fiela’s Child”) or Moerbeibos (translated into English: “The Mulberry Forest”). I read both as Afrikaans set-work books at school and have since re-read and enjoyed them immensely.

Where to stay

Knysna is a holiday town through and through that boasts a large and varied range of accommodations.

What to do

There is no end to activities in and around Knysna. Outdoor activities are naturally focused on the lagoon and the nearby forests. Buffalo Bay and Sedgefield are close by and the entire Garden Route is within your reach.

The Garden Route is successfully establishing itself as the adventure-sports mecca of South Africa, and there are many fabulous sporting events held each year in Knysna, such as the Featherbed Trail Run, the Knysna Forest Marathon and X Lakes Summer.

History & culture

Be sure to visit the Exploring Knysna’s Heritage post for details on how to enjoy the areas history.

The area has a rich and colourful history, still reflected in modern times in names like Thesen Island, named after the Norwegian family who established a thriving business, Rex Drive, named after George Rex, founder of Knysna, and the John Ben Ferry, named after the famed harbour pilot.

Unfortunately, as is too often the case, much of this history reflects the greed of man, and Knysna has suffered over the years: the forest is a shadow of its original splendour, and the Knysna elephants are all but hunted to extinction, as is the Blue duiker. Despite its year-round green appearance, the over-developed area is water-stressed.