The official Port Alfred Easter Festival Event Guide is now live, giving visitors and locals a clear view of everything happening across the long weekend. This guide brings together the full festival lineup in one place, making it easy to plan each day and move between events.
From surf contests to live music and community activities, the programme delivers a packed and diverse experience along the Eastern Cape coastline.
Surfing Takes Centre Stage
The festival once again places surfing at its core. The Rip Curl GromSearch presented by the Royal St Andrews Hotel showcases the country’s top junior surfers as they compete for rankings and international qualification opportunities.
At the same time, the Royal St Andrews Hotel Rip Curl Cup raises the performance level, with elite competitors taking on East Beach in a high-stakes contest environment. In addition, expression sessions and specialty events add energy and progression to the line-up.
Music, Community And Lifestyle
Beyond the surf, the Bands Innie Bush Music Festival brings a strong live music element to the weekend. This event creates a vibrant social atmosphere and draws crowds from across the region.
Meanwhile, family-friendly highlights such as the Granny Grommets ensure that all ages can take part. Food vendors, beach activities and community events continue to build a well-rounded festival experience.
Plan Your Festival Weekend
With so much happening, the Event Guide plays a key role in helping visitors structure their time. It offers schedules, event details and essential information in a simple format.
As a result, the Port Alfred Easter Festival continues to grow as one of South Africa’s most engaging coastal events.
There’s a quiet but dangerous belief that creeps in once we retire: “This is it. The die is cast.”
We assume that whatever we have is what we have, and that our lifestyle is now largely fixed. But in reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth.Every financial planwhether simple or complexrests on four key numbers. And the important thing to understand is this: each of these numbers can be adjusted. They are not fixed. They are levers.Get them right, and you can completely change the trajectory of your retirement.
The first number is your available assets. This is the pool of money you’ve built up, your retirement funds, unit trusts, share portfolios. It’s what generates your income and funds the big-ticket items: holidays, cars, helping family. This number sets the foundation, but on its own, it tells us very little about how you can actually live.
The second number is your lifestyle cost. What does it cost you to live your lifemonthly and annually? This includes everything from groceries and medical aid to holidays and hobbies. This number is often underestimated, and importantly, it doesn’t stay constant. Early retirement might be more active and expensive, while later years may look very different. Understanding this number properly is where real clarity begins.
The third number is the return required on your investments. This is where many retirees go wrong. There is a long-standing belief that once you retire, you should become “conservative.” While this feels safe, it can be incredibly risky. A modern retirement can last 25 to 40 years. Without sufficient exposure to growth assets, portfolios may simply not keep up. Ironically, being too conservative is one of the biggest reasons people run out of money.
The fourth and final number is longevity. None of us know how long we’ll live. But we do know this: people are living longer. Living into your 90sor even past 100is no longer unusual. This creates both a gift and a risk. A longer life means more time for experiences, but it also means more years your money needs to last, often with rising healthcare costs.
When you bring these four numbers together through proper cashflow planning, something powerful happensyou move from guessing to knowing.You stop asking, “Will I be ok?” and start asking, “How well can I live?”
Too many people either spend too freely and risk running out, or live too cautiously and leave behind a life they never fully lived. The truth is, there is often far more flexibility than people realise. Small adjustments to any one of these four levers can create a very different outcome.
If you feel like you’re just accepting the retirement you think you can have, it might be time to take another look.
Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute financial advice in any way or form. It is important to consult a financial planner to receive financial advice before acting on any information contained herein. Client Care and PWM and its directors, officers, and employees shall not be responsible and disclaim all liability for any loss, damage (whether direct, indirect, special or consequential) and/or expense of any nature whatsoever, which may be suffered as a result of, or which may be attributable, directly or indirectly, to the use of, or reliance upon any information contained in this article.
A very cool angle of the pumphouse from above, from a recent photo binge of the groynes and beaches of St Francis Bay by local photographer Clive Wright Photography
A new video from Another Offshore Adventure, titled ‘Waves For Africa’, tracks steady progress on the Long Term Coastal Protection Scheme in St Francis Bay. The footage shows active construction along the beachfront, with clear visuals of the groynes taking shape.
At the same time, big shifts in sand movement are visible, indicating that the system is beginning to influence the shoreline.
Engineered Shoreline Stabilisation
As most readers know, the scheme centres on a series of groynes positioned along the coast. These structures reduce longshore drift and encourage sand accumulation. As a result, sections of the beach begin to rebuild and stabilise.
The scheme also includes sand dredging, which is currently underway with dredging from the Kromme River.
In addition, the design supports natural coastal processes, allowing the beach to form in a more consistent and resilient way over time.
Sand Build-Up And Beach Formation
Visible changes are starting to emerge along the beachfront. Certain zones are already showing improved sand retention. Consequently, the beach profile is beginning to widen in targeted areas.
Right now, the best buildup of sand is on the southern side of the diagonal groyne, and a nice wedge-shaped wave has started to form there. Local surfers have been on, getting a few insane barrels on those rare moments. The wave is strongly affected by the tide, with it getting both too low and too high, and many have missed the golden moments.
There have also been some fun waves in front of the revetment section, running towards the diagonal groyne, but with slightly less punch than the waves on the south side.
Over time, the sand buildup is expected to extend farther along the coastline, improving both access and usability all the way to Main Beach.
Long-Term Coastal Asset Protection
The Long Term Coastal Protection Scheme represents a strategic investment in the future of St Francis Bay. It supports environmental stability, protects infrastructure and enhances the value of the beachfront.
Recent Comments