Knysna

Knysna lies on the northern shore of a large warm-water estuary, the Knysna Lagoon, fed by the Knysna River and set roughly 60 km east of George and 33 km west of Plettenberg Bay on the N2. The estuary opens to the Indian Ocean between two dramatic headlands of Peninsula Formation quartzite — the Knysna Heads — whose narrow, unpredictable channel has claimed boats and fishermen and remains one of the most notorious sea entrances on the coast. The tidal lagoon and the town it cradles are the anchor of the Garden Route.

Much of the estuary falls within the Garden Route National Park, managed by SANParks, which issues the permits needed for boating and fishing on the lagoon. Described as one of South Africa's most important estuarine ecosystems, it is the only home — together with the nearby Swartvlei and Keurbooms estuaries — of the endangered Knysna seahorse, said to be the first seahorse listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. The rich waters also underpin Knysna's oysters: the Knysna Oyster Festival, running since 1983, sees roughly 200,000 oysters consumed over its ten days.

Across the water, the privately run Featherbed Nature Reserve covers the Western Head and is reached only by ferry, its guided eco-experience taking visitors up cliffs that shelter the Knysna loerie (Knysna turaco) and the diminutive blue duiker. Inland, temperate Afromontane forest blankets the hills before giving way to fynbos, while Blue Flag beaches at Buffalo Bay and Brenton-on-Sea offer sheltered swimming a short drive from town.