Knysna: Noetsi Castles

Over the five days we were in Knysna, Mother Nature spoiled us with a bounty of sunshiny days. 

One of those sunny days was spent visiting a highlight of the Garden Route: the Noetzie Castles (pronounced: nut-zee). 

What makes these castles special is their location and reason for being there.

No, they do not reside on some rolling mountainside. And no, they were not built for royalty in the Middle Ages. 

These magnificent pieces of architecture were built 50 feet from the ocean, directly on the grassy shores of Noetzie beach (hence the name). 

The first of these castles was built in 1930 for -- get this -- a holiday house. 

After the trend was set, three more castles followed by ambitious South African vacationers. 

Yes, my friends, these beachside castles were privately built as glamorous cottages. Pretty cool, I say! 

A snippet of two Noetzie castles

A few of the castles are now upscale hotels, offering luxurious accommodation complete with fireplaces, self-catering options, and en suite bathrooms.

It seems like the perfect place to spend a romantic weekend away. It is completely private. The ocean is literally 5 feet from the front door and the water itself is known to bring around dolphins, whales, and otters.   

I don' think you can beat their view OR location! 

The castles hold special significance for Mylene. Nearly ten years ago she wed her husband, Nick, in a lantern-lit ceremony in the surrounding forest. Their guests were then shuttled to Noetzie castles, where the guests stayed for the night. Their reception was held right on the beach, complete with long tables of seafood and local wines. 

What a stunning place to have a wedding! 

Noetzie beach

Dids and Mother Rolando 

Since SA is going into winter, the beach was deserted when we visited. In the summer it is packed with people so we were lucky to have it all to ourselves that day.

The sun was warm, but the ocean sure wasn't! It was quite frigid and turned my toes red. Not that it deterred me from playing in the water :)

A small run-off from a nearby lagoon seeps into the big blue 

Mylene & I

I spent the good part of an hour chasing the waves in and out an plucking sea snails out of the surf.

They looked so gross with their soft, squishy folds hanging out of their shell!

Enjoying the relentless tumble of the waves 

SEA SNAIL HANGING OUT! Ew!

I was dared to eat it. Didn't happen. 

One day, it would be nice to return to Noetzie beach in the summer. It's shaped like a cove which allows it to be sheltered from the wind and home to plenty of sea creatures. I'd love the opportunity to spend a hot summer's day out in the sand and water, and really experience all it has to offer as a place of relaxation and beauty. 

Heading over to the explore the rocks 

Had to sneak this picture in quickly, before the surf came crashing back!

After we had our fill of the ocean and the surrounding views, we made the steep trek back to the parking lot. And what a hike it was! 

To get back to our car, we essentially had to scale the surrounding cliff. It was a long climb up vine-covered steps and then upwards again on a twisty paved path. Whew! It was a workout! 

Mylene wisely removes her shoes for the narrow, steep climb up from the beach

When we walked around the last turn in the road, Didier exclaimed that he had seen a vervet monkey.

Mylene and I thought he was joking until it moved and we could see it through the foliage!

The poor guy was limping a bit and didn't seem to care that we were around. He hopped onto a garbage bin, scrounging for food. Mylene and I were both sad that we didn't have anything to give him to eat, whereas Did's just urged us to refrain from interfering with wild animals :P

Hungry Mr.Monkey 

We dropped Mylene off and spent the afternoon shopping. I picked up a gorgeous fat, wooden hippo that I'd had my eye on all week. I also got a few keepsakes from the waterfront market: a beaded cheese knife, bookmark, Christmas angels, and a few handmade cards. 

I had been hearing stories since we'd arrived about a local shark that ate people. I thought they were joking until Dids told me he had a friend in high school who had died from the shark attacking him. Holy crap, batman! That's insane!

Not surprisingly, I wanted to visit the beach that the shark had so famously stalked nearly ten years ago. So we took the last few hours of the day to drive 15 mins to Buffalo Bay, which is located on the other side of The Heads. 

Buffalo Bay is a sleepy summer cottage town akin to Winnipeg Beach back home. It is home to lots of summer houses, large and small, many of which bear cute property nicknames that are painted on signs hung on garages and front doors. It's known to be a premier surf and fishing spot -- though not for beginners! The waves can get massive and sharks abound (duh). 

Despite the cold, there were still a solid half a dozen surfers out in the water when we were there. They were catching some pretty sweet waves! You could tell it was not for the faint-hearted though, the breaks of the waves were clearly very powerful. 

Buffalo Bay beach, where the shark attacks occurred

By the time we finished touring the town and grabbed a small snack, Dids and I had just enough time to take a leisurely stroll down the beach and hop in the car to catch a view of the sunset. 

The exquisite view of the sunset managed to shake off the disgusting pictures that were burned in my mind of the numerous hardened-geletin-like jellyfish carcasses that we had just seen cluttering the beach shore. 

Thank goodness!