South Africa's 1990s tourist boom rudely shook
KNYSNA
(pronounced "Nize-na") from its gentle backwoods drowse, which for decades made this the hippy and craftwork capital and quiet retirement village of the country. The town, 102km east of Mossel Bay, now stands at the hub of the Garden Route; its lack of ocean beaches is compensated by its hilly setting around the lagoon, and some hot marketing. The lagoon's narrow mouth is guarded by a pair of steep rocky promontories called
The Heads
, the western side being a private nature reserve and the eastern one an exclusive residential area along dramatic cliffs above the Indian Ocean.
Knysna's distinctive atmosphere derives from its small historic core of Georgian and Victorian buildings, which gives it a character absent from most of the Garden Route holiday towns. Coffee shops, craft galleries, street traders and a modest nightlife add to the attractions, and you may find yourself tempted to stay longer than just one night. That the town has outgrown itself is evident from the cars and tour buses which, especially in December and January, clog Main Street, the constricted artery that merges with the N2 as it enters the town
The Town and around
Knysna wraps around the lagoon, with its oldest part - the town centre - on the northern side. Along the eastern shore the exclusive suburbs include
Leisure Isle
, connected to the shore by a narrow causeway, and
The Heads
, a...
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The beaches
Don't come to Knysna for a beach holiday: apart from the lagoon's edge, the closest sands are 20km away, around the western edge of the lagoon at
Brenton-on-Sea
. On the shores of the beautifully sandy Buffels Bay, this is a tiny settlement...
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