A bonus of the ruggedness of the Eastern Cape's coastline is the occurrence of "secret" beaches. Obviously these beaches aren't really secret, but they are hidden and unless you know about them you aren't likely to ever find
them.
One of these beaches is
Kenton-on-Sea's
Shelley Bay (or Beach). From Kenton-on-Sea you get to Shelley Bay by driving to the Bushman's River (signposted) and then following the road until you can't get any further. At this point you will find a parking area and if it is a nice day, you will more than likely find some local cars parked there already.
Now you have to take a 20min hike over some sand dunes. It is advisable to wear some footwear here as the sand gets VERY hot in the summer. When you reach the top of these dunes, you will have a fantastic view of Kenton-on-Sea and
Bushman's River Mouth. Also keep an eye out for the aloes on the dunes. These are endemic to the Eastern Cape.
Now you can follow a makeshift path down to the coastline. Be careful here because there are some sharp cliffs around. You will soon see a beautiful closed off beach. This is Shelley Bay. If it is a nice day there will almost certainly be people down there already. You might even see some topless tanners! Make your way down to this beach. Again be careful; a fall here will cause serious injury. When you reach this beach you will find that the sand actually feels quite rough and Shelley. From this the name: Shelley Bay.
Shelley Bay is known locally for its dumper waves. Because of the underlying contours the waves build suddenly and then dump onto the shore. This makes for fantastic, albeit slightly rough, body surfing. I remember bleeding from my elbows as a kid, but not wanting to get out; it was just too much fun. This was after 5 hours of dumpers it has to be said. A note for the babes out there: unless you want to get rid of your clothes, don't attempt body surfing here in a bikini - you will lose your top! The best time for these dumpers is about an hour after the tide starts coming in. See your local press for these times. At other times the waves aren't nearly as wild. Some weirdos(!) prefer this.
Something else you can "have a blast" with is the blasting holes at Shelley Bay. These are holes (about 30cm in diameter) in the rock that have been created through eons of continuous battering by the Indian Ocean. It is a local tradition to stick your behind over these holes as an incoming wave hits the shore. This gives a refreshing spray and tickles all the areas that you can't easily get to!
If you do get to Shelley Bay at low tide, you can scuba dive or explore the tidal pools & rock formations around the bay. It is a good idea to wear shoes here; these rocks can be very sharp.
Spending time in the water makes one extremely hungry and after a couple of hours hunger pangs will be driving you and yours back to Kenton to get a bite, traditionally an ice cream.
Be sure to check out some more
Shelley Beach photos.
Labels: ToDoBRM, ToDoKenton
