Glenmore Beach, South Coast

Whilst some tend to lump Munster and Glenmore beach into the same hand basket, there is a subtle difference. Actually the four areas on the lower end of the Hibiscus Coast - Trafalgar Beach, Palm Beach, Munster and Glenmore beach - lie virtually on top of one another, each with a distinct charm of its own.

Interestingly Glenmore beach is the swimming and surfing bay in Munster, which is where the confusion enters the picture, and why they tend to be referred to interchangeably. Glenmore beach is flanked by two rivers - the Mkhandandlovu (head of the elephant) to the north, and the Itongasi (meaning I don’t know) River to the south, which divides the area into two - Glenmore beach to the south and Munster to the north.

But there is nothing baffling about the beauty of the coast here - long stretches of unspoilt beaches, lush vegetation, wild sea crashing on to boulders, and giant rocky outcrops. This is an angling and surfing paradise, and a favourite venue for events such as beauty contests and fishing competitions.

Glenmore beach is shark-protected, the mouth of the Itongasi River a popular boat launch, and surfers make this their local haunt. It’s a wonderful place to visit all year round, but particularly from April to October where the Bottle Nose and Common dolphin, as well as the Humpback and Southern Right Whales, frequent these waters. The annual Sardine Run, which beached in Glenmore Bay in 2000 and 2001, attracts schools of dolphin that need to be seen to be believed.