Knysna - General Info
Description:
Situated midway between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, the town of Knysna lies around a wide and spectacular lagoon at the mouth of the Knysna River.
The Knysna Estuary area (sometimes referred to as the Lagoon) is a protected South African National Park and is administered and managed by SANParks and current regulations apply. The park is alive with birds and wildlife.
Entrance Notes and Cautions:
Knysna Heads can be notoriously rough and difficult to navigate. This isn’t a place to visit if you are on a fixed timescale as it is important to wait for the right conditions to get through the Heads. Visiting yachts must have an up to date chart – Chart SAN 1021.
Because of heavy breakers across the Heads at times, it is not easy for low powered craft to maintain proper way in this channel.
It is recommended that entry should only be made when conditions are fair in swell/wave conditions no higher than 2.0m, the best time being in the last hour before high water and in daytime. It is strongly emphasized that it can be dangerous to attempt entry during the period of ebb tide, especially if there are breakers over the bars with the resultant effect of overfall.
When approaching from the West, an offing of at least half a mile is recommended to avoid the above-water rocks which extend south from the Western Head to 34°05.3’S.
When approaching from the East a similar situation exists. Rocks extend to 34°05.4’S from the Eastern Head and East Cape over a mile from the Heads.
In addition, at times the cold Benguella current from the Cape Town side ridges in and with warm air causes fog so thick you apparently can see the front of your yacht according to respected SA weather router Des Cason.
Knysna Yacht Club have provided some helpful Knysna Heads Entrance and Estuary Notes. For more information contact the KYC Manager at 044 382 5724, or email at manager@knysnayachtclub.com
The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) Station 12, Knysna is situated on the eastern side of the Heads a short distance from the Fountain Point beacon. Contact: 044 384 0211 Mobile: 082 990 5946.
Cruiser Highlights:
Whilst not the easiest place to get into, cruisers report that it is well worth the effort and very sheltered once inside. An excellent calm spot to wait for a weather window to Cape Town and enjoy some time exploring ashore.
This town is cheap, beautiful, very sheltered, has excellent shops and restaurants, some yachting facilities, a very welcoming yacht club and there is easy access to N2 and the garden route.
Position:
34° 05’15″S, 23° 03’31″E (entrance)
Last updated: December 2023
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The best place to visit in South Africa! If you follow the track on all maps the entry when the sea is calm is very easy with not less than 5mt depth. Even in the yacht club you still have 3mt at low tide.
The yacht club offer the best welcome we had and not to mention that they give you 5 free days on the dock with facility. The place is very nice with lot of activity and the commodore will help you for everything.
Beautiful harbour, majestic entrance. See https://www.knysnayachtclub.com/home/safety/5-entering-the-knysna-heads before attempting to enter. Noonsite here says 2m swells max, the yacht club page says max 3m swells.
We entered on a mid-rising tide with 2 to 3m swells from the south, keeping the alignment over the outer bar( close to the rocks on the west side over outer bar ) and then move to the east near the submerged rock on maps for inner bar,and had no problem and didn’t see any breaking waves on or near the entrance alignment. Of course, the skipper should wait at the entrance and watch conditions for 10-15 minutes before entering if large swell to make sure there are no breakers on larger wave sets or compounding waves.
Once the inside route is obvious. Nice anchorage and facilities, great town!
Knysna is a must stop for cruisers visiting the east coast of South Africa. It provides a safe and beautiful anchorage with a quaint town and excellent repair facilities. We spent 7 months there and thoroughly enjoyed our time making great friends and had a lot of work done to Evenflow.
The infamous Knysna Heads do require respect, but entry is not a problem as long as you watch conditions – 2m or less swell, preferably easterly winds and at tide change. Best done in daylight for sure. See https://www.knysnayachtclub.com/home/safety/5-entering-the-knysna-heads. Note the NSRI will not have anyone come out to guide you in – purely for accountability issues, but they can be contacted to check conditions. Real-time conditions can be viewed at http://www.theheads.co.za
Once inside the heads the lagoon has buoys marking the channel to the anchorage and marina. The anchorage has a nice sandy bottom and anchoring is free. The marina has walk-on slips and rates are reasonable. Contact Herbie at herbiekos@hotmail.com to arrange a slip.
Knysna has a beautiful town with all services. The marina has haul-out facilities and comprehensive supporting industry. The yacht club is friendly and social. Highly recommended.
We went on a fantastic Township tour and visited an innovative art and education HIV project run by the community for children. It is well worth a visit to see another side of life in South Africa. It is a short drive from Kynsna, we paid R150 each (Dec 17), they can arrange transport from the Yacht Club at an extra cost. Email info@madaboutart.org or contact Beaty 078 382 7548 or Liz 082 340 8308. http://www.madaboutart.org
Knysna harbour is in our opinion the best on the South African coast and we spent several months here between December 2013 and March 2014. The entrance is not difficult with care and the NSRI on VHF16 can give advice and may be able to send a RIB out to guide you in. One tip on approaching with a swell running is keeping speed to a maximum and course straight. Once inside the calm lagoon you can anchor or contact Herbie Kostens Knysna Quays 044 3820955 (Office)044 3820741 (Office Fax)0824941607 (Cell) or email herbiekos@hotmail.com. He may be able to help.
The town is all within walking distance and there are many good restaurants – our favourites were Cruise Cafe and a few minutes from the marina and Freshline near the refuse transfer station for the best fresh fish around. Also Marios very good but gets very busy. (See our Trip Advisor reviews under “Oceanwander”) Excellent engineering services are available at Tangent Engineering in the industrial area. Outboard services are available at Tait Marine (Mariner/Mercury – expensive) and Volvo. All major supermarket chains are well represented. Europcar has a hire car office just across the road by the station. Spectra Watermakers have an agent Peter Bakker 072 683 0797 who is very helpful