Cape St. Francis

Cape St. Francis (Afrikaans: Kaap St Francis) is a village in South Africa, situated on a headland in the Eastern Cape Province. It is popular for its clean beaches and as a surfing location.

This article is about the town in South Africa. For the headland in Newfoundland, see Cape St. Francis (Newfoundland and Labrador).

Cape St. Francis
View of Cape St. Francis from the Seal Point Lighthouse
View of Cape St. Francis from the Seal Point Lighthouse
Cape St. Francis is located in Eastern Cape
Cape St. Francis
Cape St. Francis
Cape St. Francis is located in South Africa
Cape St. Francis
Cape St. Francis
Coordinates: 34°11′49″S 24°50′17″E
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceEastern Cape
DistrictSarah Baartman
MunicipalityKouga
Area
[1]
 • Total4.38 km2 (1.69 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total342
 • Density78/km2 (200/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
[1]
 • Black African3.5%
 • Coloured1.8%
 • White94.7%
First languages (2011)
[1]
 • English55.6%
 • Afrikaans42.1%
 • Xhosa1.8%
 • Other0.6%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)

The village is home to the Seal Point Lighthouse.[2]

The Irma Booysen Floral Reserve is the home to many species of flowers and plants.

The adjacent village, St Francis Bay, was the site of "ten-million-to-one" surfing waves seen in the 1966 surf/travel documentary, The Endless Summer.

Cape St. Francis is now known as one of the best surfing locations. Given its geological location, it is susceptible to swell year round from large low pressure systems that form between Antarctica and the southern tip of Africa. When large south west swells wrap around Seal Point and the prevailing offshore winds come up, the surfing is world class.

It is also featured in the 2014 film The Perfect Wave, starring Scott Eastwood.

Bartolomeu Dias originally named the cape Ponta das Quiemadas because of the fires he spotted there while sailing past.[3]

See also

References
  1. "Main Place Cape St. Francis". Census 2011.
  2. "Home". penguin-rescue.org.za.
  3. "Historical plant incidence in southern Africa" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 January 2020.


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