Morgan Bay Accommodation and Activities
Morgan Bay is a picturesque village on South Africa's Eastern Cape Wild Coast that offers affordable accommodation that includes camping, bed & breakfast and self-catering apartments and hotel luxury.
The coastal village of Morgans Bay lies nestled between the famous Morgan Bay cliffs and a mile-long stretch of unspoilt beach, bordered by the untamed Cape Morgan Nature Reserve. Situated 15 minutes away from the Kei River and the adventures of the Wild Coast, yet only 1 hour from East London, Morgan Bay offers you the best of both worlds.
Morgans Bay is an ideal destination for adventurous family holidays with an excellent swimming beach, patrolled by lifeguards during the festive season, and lagoon in pristine natural surroundings. It's the perfect place to get in some well earned relaxation and breathe in the fresh sea air. During the day you can gaze at passing ships on the horizon or lie on the beach with a book. At night you can lie relaxed in comfortable accommodation while being hypnotised by the dull roar of the sea, glorious stars and the intermittent beam of the Cape Morgan Lighthouse across the bay.
In the early part of the 20th century, Morgan Bay was a popular holiday destination for farmers from throughout South Africa's Eastern Cape region. Every year, after the harvest, they packed their families and possessions into wagons for a camping holiday by the sea. These days Morgan Bay is still a popular camping destination, with families from up country making the yearly trek down to the sea to enjoy the delights of the Wild Coast.
Morgan Bay accommodation includes: Hotels, Bed & Breakfast and Self Catering apartments and houses to Camping. Morgans Bay has a range of accommodation to suit all tastes.
Activities & Attractions: |
The Beach | The 1.5km long Morgans Bay beach has more than enough room for everyone. Activities include swimming, tanning, book reading, fishing, sand boarding, kite flying, body boarding, surfing, touch rugby, beach cricket, beach soccer, volleyball, dog walking, jogging, sand castle building, horse riding, shell collecting, beachcombing and good old fashioned relaxing.
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The Lagoon | Morgan's Bay has a safe swimming lagoon for the little ones. You will also enjoy a paddle to the upper reaches where you are sure to spot the resident Fish Eagles.
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The Cliffs / Krantzes | Pack your camera and go for a hike over the spectacular dolerite cliffs at Morgan Bay. These impressive slabs of dolerite, which drop some 50 metres into the pounding surf, are ideal vantage points for watching the sunrise or enjoying a sundowner with friends. If you're lucky, you may even see the dolphins frolicking in the waves, which crash against the rocks below.
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Fishing | The area is popular with anglers and offers superb fishing both at the coast and in the estuaries. Experienced anglers can head for ledges on the Morgan Bay cliffs. You can also charter a deep-sea ski boat or launch your own from the Kei River mouth.
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Birding | Birding areas range from back gardens to the banks the Morgan Bay lagoon, Morgan Bay Dam, Yellowwood Forest, the beach, cliffs and coastal forest of Cape Morgan Nature Reserve. Species include: Sunbirds, Hornbills, Bulbuls, Barbets, Weavers, Canaries, Waxbills, Crowned Cranes, 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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Horseriding | Enjoy an exhilarating horse ride along the beach or along the top of the cliffs with the award winning Mkulu Kei Horse Trails. They also offer multi day guided horse riding holidays beyond the Kei River and along the Transkei coast.
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Double Mouth Nature Reserve | This pristine coastal nature reserve boasts one of SA's most picturesque campsites & lies only 4km away from Morgan's Bay. Here two rivers meet in a pristine estuary, which carves a single course through forested dunes to the sea. Fish Eagles, Crowned Eagles, Red-Billed Woodhoopoes and several species of Kingfishers patrol the placid waters and it's forest fringes. Just beyond is Bead beach; site of a 16th Century Portuguese shipwreck, it's the perfect place to do a little treasure hunting for Ming porcelain and Carnelian beads. Motorbikes and Quads are not permitted. There is a parking fee.
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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 the Morgan Bay Cliffs to get a better view.
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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. Smaller craft markets are often held during busy periods at the Morgan Bay Hotel. Local Xhosa women also sell beads, grass mats and baskets at the parking area by the beach.
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Game Drives | Visit Endalweni Private Game Reserve just 8km away and see impala, blesbuck, bushbuck, nyala, kudu, blue duiker, common duiker, red hartebeest, waterbuck, blue wildebeest, common reedbuck, Burchell's zebra, giraffe, gennet, mongoose, caracal, black-backed jackal, porcupine, bushpig, warthog, leguaan, vervet monkey, baboon as well as a plethora of bird and plant species.
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Rock Climbing & Abseiling | Morgan Bay is home to the only established sea cliff climbing in South Africa. The climbing is on Dolerite and is characterised by an abundance of vertical cracks. It is one of excellent quality and has a very rough texture. The routes are widely scattered over several faces, pinnacles and buttresses that are located at different levels above the ocean. They range in grade from 11 to 26 with a majority being between grades 17 and 22. There are currently almost 400 routes. For more information and route guides visit www.kzn.mcsa.org.za/morgan/mb-rds.html. The same route guide can also be found in the coffee shop at: Yellowwood Forest.
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History:
Morgan Bay was named in 1822 after A.F. Morgan, who was master of the royal naval survey ship Barracouta. She was part of a number of ships on an expedition, under Captain W.F.W Owen R.N, sent out by the British Admiralty to survey the coast from Maputo southwards to the mouth of the Keiskamma River.
The Cape Morgan Nature Reserve takes its name from the automatic lighthouse, which peeks out above the trees of the indigenous forest that lines the beach. The ruins of the old Titanium mine, started by Trev Miller in 1958, lie within this reserve and can be accessed from the Kei Mouth Golf Course road.
Morgan Bay GPS Waypoint coordinates:
32° 42' 22" S 28° 20' 38" E
Directions from East London:
(tar)
Drive for approx. 30 minutes on the N2 from East London toward Mthatha and take the Kei Mouth / Morgan Bay turnoff at Mooiplaas. Follow the R349 for R35.5km to the Morgan Bay turnoff, just past the aeroplane at the Ferndale School. Then follow the 7km road to Morgan Bay.
Directions from Durban:
Route 1 (tar):
31km past the Kei Bridge take the Kei Mouth / Morgan Bay turnoff at Mooiplaas and follow the R349 for R35.5km to the Morgan Bay turnoff, just past the aeroplane at the Ferndale School. Then follow the 7km road to Morgan Bay.
Route 2: (tar + 22km of dirt roads)
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 R15km to the Morgan Bay turnoff, just past the aeroplane at the Ferndale School. Then follow the 7km road to Morgan Bay.
Route 3 (tar + 32km of dirt roads + R60 ferry trip): At Butterworth take the R409 to Centane. From Centane drive along the dirt road to Trennerys / Seagulls for 19km. Turn left 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. Drive along the short gravel road from the pont to a T-Juntion. Turn right and drive 3km to the Morgan Bay Link Road turnoff and turn left (at a bus shelter), then immediately right. 2.5km later you will be in Morgan Bay.
Newspaper Articles:
Daily Dispatch Articles:
Rare beaked whale dies at Morgan Bay
Dramatic rescue attempt as holiday-makers struggle to save a rare beaked whale that beached itself at Morgan Bay.
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