Kleinemonde

Kleinemonde sits in Ndlambe Local Municipality on the eastern edge of the Sunshine Coast, roughly 20km west of Port Alfred along the R72. The name refers to the twin rivers, East and West Kleinemonde, that carve through the village before spreading into lagoons and entering the Indian Ocean. When the rains have been good, both rivers run to the sea. When they haven't, the lagoons are still there, ringed with indigenous bush and cycads.

What draws people to Kleinemonde is the absence of almost everything else. There's no town centre, no strip of shops, no restaurant on the beachfront. What there is: miles of white sand, a Blue Flag beach, tidal pools, and a canoe trail that takes you up the West Kleinemonde River to a rustic overnight hut called Lily Pad, roughly 8km upstream. It's a straightforward paddle followed by a short hike in with your gear. You come back the next morning.

The beach itself is wide, clean, and largely empty. Even during school holidays, it doesn't fill up. That's the whole point. Fishing off the beach and in the lagoons, swimming in calm conditions, birdwatching along the river banks, and doing very little else. There are no surf breaks to speak of, so the water stays manageable for families.

The village is almost entirely holiday homes, with a handful of permanent residents. It's the kind of place people have been coming back to for 30 years and want to keep to themselves. The Eastern Cape coastline here hasn't been built up the way the Garden Route has. That's what makes it worth the detour off the main road.