Having spent over 55 Christmas holidays in St Francis, I thought I needed to reflect on how lucky I am to have grown up in this lovely area.  A treat right in my backyard, you don’t need a visa nor do you need to pay in dollars. St. Francis is right here at the bottom of South Africa, or as the Lighthouse plaque says, “The most south eastern tip of Africa”.

When we first came to St. Francis in our school holidays we came the long way round – there was no bridge over the Krom. We rented the Fisherman’s cottages where the present bottle store is, and we shared a kitchen that had a paraffin fridge.  We were only allocated a certain section of the fridge for our fresh milk and bread which was supplied by local farmers.

Everyone knew everyone and we all went to the main beach in the morning while some people fished at the Second Bush which is past where Santareme is today. The incredible sand dunes were a beach buggy’s dream, and I will never forget going up the wall of death. Sailing boats often used to anchor in the bay and then came to shore in their smaller boats to try and get provisions as there was no harbour. I remember watching the 16mm film called “Dove” which was about a boat that sailed around the world, with one of the stops being St Francis Bay. This movie was shown on the tennis practice wall.

Cape St Francis was certainly also part of our holiday as we explored the coastline on the wild side and watched the waves crash on the rocks at “sunset rock”. We will never forget when John Bain went fishing out at sea, flipped his boat and was rescued a couple of days later by a large tanker. We followed the incident on Springbok radio, the only form of communication in St Francis.

In the early 1980’s, my parents built their home in Santareme.  It was only the third house to be built and was in front of Bruces Beauties, named after the great surfing movie “The Endless Summer”. The Hullett’s were very proactive in living out their dream of building a village where everyone had to have white walls and thatch roofs. What a vision they had as they then also started the canal system which had not  been done before in South Africa. Who can forget skiing up and down the “ski canal” parallel to the coast?

Then came the hotel which was a central meeting point, and which had a great swimming pool, close to the beach. Neville, the legendary barman, made sure the youth had a great time. The 9 hole golf course was established, and the “Maxwell 9” drew a new crowd to St Francis. The trading store was a gold mine providing basic essentials for one to buy, even though we all used to fight for fresh rolls when they came out of the oven as the quantities were limited!

With the bridge being built everyone was concerned that the river would split up, but it did not cause any problems for those going up the river to ski. The chokka industry was a turning point for the village resulting in too many boats coming in and out of the mouth of the Krom  The “Port” was then built, which created employment for so many. The next development was the “Links” golf estate which took a while to get going.  However it is now number 3 in the country. Along the way, the village has endured some hardships, like rampant fires and floods but everyone has always stuck together and bounced back from these events.

Nature has ruled the situation at the beach and it’s sad to see all the rocks from the mouth of the Krom now on the main beach.  I remember playing touch rugby at high tide, even with a fleet of hobie cats parked in the sand dunes.

Fast forward to December 2024 – what great weather – which enabled all holidaymakers the chance to enjoy whatever activity they wished to do.  Your choice 55 years ago, was limited to swimming, surfing, fishing, and skiing up the river.

The community must be complimented on the variety of activities they put on for all the holidaymakers to enjoy.  To name a few :

  • Summer sports series
  • Fishing competitions
  • Endless golf events at the clubs
  • Entertainment at the Links, the Brewery, and the now famous Billy’s Beach
  • The River Club, a sportsman’s dream
  • Mountain bike trails
  • Paddling events on the sea, river, and canals
  • And the fabulous Flash float.

Is St Francis growing too big and it is losing its “ Village” vibe with the introduction of delivery scooters, KFC, etc?  For me, that’s life and that’s how things evolve.  Let’s look at the  positives that came out of the growth that we are seeing.  The incredible yacht building industry for one, employs so many people from Sea Vista, and this industry is producing world class yachts that are being bought by clients from all over the world.

Look at the good that comes from the Flash Float as all funds raised get put back into the community. Not forgetting Ballies evening at Billy’s Beach – funds raised are donated to local schools, NSRI, sports clubs, animal welfare, hospice, etc. Most holiday makers had a happy, fun and incident-free time in St Francis and will certainly return.

Here’s hoping that we get some positive news about the groynes to get us all back on the beach.

GAVIN HARVEY

 

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