Kei Mouth Accommodation and Activities
Kei Mouth is situated on South Africa's Eastern Cape Wild Coast and offers affordable holiday accommodation that includes camping, bed & breakfast and self-catering apartments and hotel luxury.
Kei Mouth lies on the south bank of the Kei River, beyond which, lies adventure in the rural former homeland of the Transkei. The subtropical climate, unpolluted beaches and warm waters of the Indian Ocean make Kei Mouth ideal for bathers, surfers and sunbathers throughout the year.
Activities in the area include river cruises, golf, deep-sea fishing, fly fishing, mountain biking, hiking and nature trails, rock climbing, abseiling, surfing, canoeing, microlighting, horse riding, game viewing and bird watching. Why not stop in at the Hazel Jefferies Shell Museum, they have hundreds of varieties of shells on display and are considered to be amongst the best in South Africa.
Kei Mouth accommodation includes: Hotels, Bed & Breakfast and Self Catering apartments and houses to Camping. Kei Mouth has a range of accommodation to suit all tastes.
The new tar road has significantly shortened travelling time from East London to only 1 hour. Visitors need not worry about the lack of facilities. The shops are well stocked with foodstuffs and other necessities. Fresh bread, milk and newspapers are delivered daily. There is a post office, library, petrol station, garage and hardware store.
Activities & Attractions: |
The Beaches | Kei Mouth is blessed with several sheltered beaches. They are separated from one another by long rocky outcrops that are good for fishing and provide many rock pools for the kids to play in. Other beach activities include: swimming, book reading, kite flying, body boarding, surfing, touch rugby, beach cricket, beach soccer, volleyball, dog walking, jogging, sand castle building, horse riding, shell collecting and beachcombing.
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The Strandloper Trail & other walks | Kei Mouth is the start of the popular "Strandloper Trail", which begins nearby and passes through Morgan Bay, Haga Haga and the Jikeleza Route villages before terminating at Gonubie. There are shorter walks through the coastal forest along Lover's Lane in Kei Mouth and up to the lookout points above the Kei River on Signal Hill. Alternatively, for a full day hike, cross the Kei on "the Pont" and walk along the coastline past the mouth of the Gxara River (see Nongqawuse) and on past Qolora Mouth to the Jacaranda shipwreck and back. Another day walk takes you south along the coast to Morgan Bay, up onto the magnificent cliffs and beyond to Double Mouth Nature Reserve.
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The Pont & Transkei | Intrepid explorers will be thrilled by the pontoon adventure, as vehicles and passengers are ferried across the Kei River, to the adventures of the Transkei Wild Coast. For a great day trip, head for the wreck of The Jacaranda, which has been high and dry on the beach since 1971. It's about an hour on foot up the beach from Trennerys Hotel at the Qolora River Mouth.
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Fishing | Kei Mouth is exceptionally popular with anglers; the area offers excellent fishing grounds both at the coast and in the Kei River, which is navigable for several kilometres upstream. Launching from the Kei River Mouth is an exhilarating start to a wonderful day out at sea with magnificent views of the Wild Coast.
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The Lighthouse | The fully automated Cape Morgan Lighthouse was built in 1964 and is one of only 3 lighthouses along the Wild Coast. The Stone Chance lantern sits atop a 12-metre lattice tower and emits two white flashes every 10 seconds with a range of 24 sea miles. It is a 3km walk or drive South-West along the coast from Kei Mouth and a path leads down from there to some good fishing spots.
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Birdwatching | Birdlife abounds in the area and its many habitats. Birding areas range from back gardens to the banks of the Kei, Centenary Dam, the coastal forest on Signal Hill and the Cape Morgan Nature Reserve. Sunbirds, Hornbills, Bulbuls, Barbets, Weavers, Canaries, Waxbills, Fish Eagles, Jackal Buzzards, Long Crested Eagles, Crowned Eagles, Goliath Heron, Water Dikkop, Kingfishers, Plovers, Reed Cormorants, Darters, Herons, Forest Weavers, Black Headed Orioles, Narina Trogons, Oystercatchers and much more.
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The Hazel Jefferies Shell Museum | Visit the Hazel Jefferies Shell Museum where you can view the hundreds of varieties of shells on display. It is located next to the municipal offices and is considered one of the most comprehensive collections in South Africa. Mon-Fri 07:00-16:00 and Sat: 09:00-11:00
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Dolphin & Whale Watching | Pods of Dolphins can be seen surfing the waves year round, but their numbers really increase during the winter months, when pods stretching for hundreds of metres can be seen as they search for the shoals of the Sardine Run. It is also around this time of year that the Humpback and Southern Right Whales begin to arrive from Antarctica. Not a day goes by that they are not seen jumping out of the water or slapping the surface with their tails. The whales don't come too close to shore though, so bring your binoculars and climb up to the lookout platforms on Signal Hill to get a better view.
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Golf | The 9-hole Golf course at the Kei Mouth Country Club has great views of Kei mouth and the coastline as it stretches northwards. Wed: 18 holes (draw closes at 11:30) | Fri: 9 holes (draw closes at 14:30) | Sat: 18 holes (Time sheet available or draw closes at 11:30)
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Farmers and Crafters Markets | Markets are held once a month out of season, with two being held during the festive season. Local Xhosa women also sell beads, grass mats and baskets in the parking areas near the beaches.
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Other Activities | Go for a sundowner or bird watching river cruise up the Kei with Fish Eagle Cruises or take the family for a braai at the river mouth.
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History:
Kei Mouth lies on the frontline of a buffer zone created by the British after the 8th Frontier War. They declared British Kaffraria theirs and decided to populate it with white farmers and their families. The idea was that these farmers would eventually be able to defend the land themselves.
A fort, along with a detachment of British soldiers, was established at Kei Mouth. The fort consisted of heaped dune sand surround by a ditch, a hopelessly inadequate arrangement. So, when the 9th Frontier War began on the 6th of January 1878, the local farmers packed what they could onto their wagons and fled to the safety of Fort Warwick, near Komga (Komgha). The remains of the fort lie adjacent to Old Fort Road.
It was at this time that the Enniskillen Reef, a prominent crown shaped rock off the river mouth, was given its name. A detachment of Irish soldiers sent to guard the fort, named it after their hometown in Ireland.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, after the harvests, farmers from the surrounding districts would pack their families and provisions into wagons, for a two month long camping holiday by the sea. Animals taken with included; milk cows and their calves; fattened sheep and roosters; and chickens for laying eggs. A span of oxen would pull each wagon, laden with necessities such as flour, maize, salt, sugar, preserved food and other groceries needed to sustain the families and their servants for the entire holiday. There were no supermarkets and refrigerators back then!
Entertainment came in the form of poetry readings, singsongs, dancing and plays staged by children and adults alike. Beach use was a little different back then, with men and women bathing at different times and on separate beaches. Men swam at Northcroft beach and ladies at Florence beach. A Gymkhana was held on the beach on New Years Day each year, with farmers competing against the men of the Cape Mounted Rifles, even beating them on one occasion!
Even Huberta, the famous Hippo, visited Kei Mouth for a while, taking up residence in the Kei River just above third cave in 1930. She was eventually chased off and continued her epic journey southward once more.
Kei Mouth GPS Waypoint coordinates:
32° 40' 46" S 28° 22' 44" E
Directions from East London: On the N2 from East London, take the Kei Mouth / Morgan Bay turnoff at Mooiplaas and follow the R349 for 44km to Kei Mouth.
Directions from Durban:
Route 1 (all tar):
31km past the Kei Bridge take the Kei Mouth / Morgan Bay turnoff at Mooiplaas and follow the R349 for 44km to Kei Mouth.
Route 2 (tar + 22km dirt road):
15km past the Kei Bridge turn left onto a dirt road at the Kei Mouth / Morgan Bay turnoff. 22km later at the T-Junction, turn left and drive another 22km on the tar road to Kei Mouth.
Route 3 (tar + 29km dirt road + R60 ferry trip): At Butterworth take the R409 to Centane. From Centane drive along the dirt road to Trennerys / Seagulls for 19km. Turn right at the Trennerys sign board and drive a further 10km to the Kei River. It costs R60, one way, to cross the river to Kei Mouth on the pontoon ferry.
Newspaper Articles:
Daily Dispatch Articles:
Kei Mouth Articles
Articles written by the Dispatch @venture Team following their visit to Kei Mouth.
New Kei ferry in time for the holiday season
This article from the Universal Maritime Trade Union website was written by the Daily Dispatch and talks about Kei Mouth's newest ferry or 'Pont'.
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