Cape St Francis, Sunshine Coast

The little village of Cape St Francis, just outside Humansdorp past St Francis Bay and Port St Francis, is all about its beautiful white, sandy beaches and historic Seal Point lighthouse, which has stood watch since the 1800s over these rocky shores.

Marketed as an eco-lovers’ destination because of the abundance of nature reserves in the area, this is a coastline on which to enjoy surfing, windsurfing, canoeing, hiking and abseiling - it’s all about the great outdoors and you’re spoilt for choice when the sun shines, which is most of the time given the temperate climate and the longest sunshine hours on the country’s coast. Swimming in Cape St Francis is a pleasure and one of the main occupations particularly if you’ve a family. The wide beaches stretch from Seal Point to Shark Point and there’s a wonderful sheltered pool, called Johnson’s pool, for the kids. Bird watching, if you’re so inclined, never fails to satisfy, and you’re close enough to St Francis Bay to make the canal cruise and boat trips up the Kromme River, a must.

The Blowhole hike passes through the Irma Booysen Flora Reserve, along a coastal footpath and onto a sandy beach. Here stands what remains of The Osprey, shipwrecked on the beach with large shell deposits still intact. Walk beyond this and some 200 metres beyond a shack, and you reach the Blowhole, just off the rocks - yes, the shack really does act as a landmark!

Finally, Seal Point Nature Reserve, which lies between Cape St Francis and St Francis Bay, covers some 120 hectares with a 3 kilometre coastline, including some beautiful sand dunes and fine examples of coastal dune fynbos and coastal dune thicket.