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Appreciate the view over the natural fresh-water Palinggat Spring (the fresh water spring originates right there!) where the tame eels are being fed each day at 11:00 – you can even participate in the feeding process if you want! – or walk through the museum and gather information and brochures about what to do where in Stilbaai, Jongensfontein and the area.
The Stilbaai area has an interesting Stone Age heritage and more discoveries are made at the nearby Blombos Cave. This cave is closed to the public, but make sure to visit the archaeological exhibition in the Info Centre where you can view the history.
The little Platbosch School Museum will take many a visitor back to their own school days and the history of schools in the area can be viewed here.
There is also a little shop that sells interesting things including handmade goods and souvenirs. Walk around to view the ‘funeral wagon’ that was used between 1880 and 1920 in the Riversdale / Albertinia district.
The Info Centre and Tourism Bureau is a must stop for Stilbaai visitors AND local residents.

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What is a coastal town, where fishing used to be one of the major forms of income and is still being practiced, without a historical fishing boat?
Yes, Stilbaai also has theirs and this is one of the things (places) you have to visit when in Stilbaai… Stop at the harbour and walk past the NSRI Station 31 building to the old fisherman’s boat (or a ‘tok‘ in Afrikaans) next to the building. This one has quite a sad history though…
History has it that when this ‘tok‘, the Wafra, a commercial fishing boat, left for the ocean on April 25, 2002, it was the very last time it did so. The boat and its crew of eight was caught in heavy mist and were stranded on the rocks at Skulpiesbaai close to the harbour. Six of the eight crew members lost their lives – Otto Galant (Pye), Henry Galant, Willie Olivier (Willie Keps), Otto Manho (Whitey), Franje Manho (Oom Faan) and Bob Abrahams drowned and Reginald Kleynhans from Melkhoutfontein as well as ‘Mario’ were the only two survivors.
According to an article in the Suid-Kaap Forum newspaper (dd June 7, 2012) between 35 and 40 fisherman’s boats returned to the harbour for the funeral on May 1st, 2002. The Wafra was later a well-known beacon next to the N2 at the turn-off to Stilbaai. It was replaced in 2011 by the current boat that is an extremely popular ‘photo stop’ for hundreds of holiday makers.
The Wafra was then restored and now serves as a monument.
(Information from Suid-Kaap Forum newspaper. More photos on mystilbaai.co.za on Facebook)

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The ‘Wafra’, a fisherman’s boat with a (sad) story… (Photo: www.mystilbaai.co.za)

After some welcome rain during the third week in February 2016, perfect weather on Sunday morning invited us to explore the coast line between Stilbaai and Jongensfontein and we’ve decided to start at Jongensfontein. We’ve left our vehicle there and prepared for a three hour hike with sunscreen, lots of water and some snacks, hats and our small but awesome Nikon Coolpix camera.
According to information gathered before, the ‘complete’ route of this trail that stretches from the Jongensfontein caravan park  to Morris Point in Stilbaai (or the other way round), is about 11 kilometres in distance and one had to keep the tides in mind as high tide at certain places can be problematic.
On this day, the sea spewed lots of foam onto the rocks and sand making for some ‘different’ views…
Soon after our early morning start (we started just after 8:30, but suggest an even earlier start to avoid walking over midday), we’ve reached the disintegrated whale carcass on the rocks (this carcass has been there since late 2015). We’ve enjoyed the views of the orange rocks; the white foam on the edges and the blue sea and sky on the one side and the bright green vegetation almost all along the route on the ‘inland’ side.
It was great to see that there were visitors at most of the secluded break-away venues (follow the yellow arrows on the rocks – some of which are quite faded though – so as to not disturb guests’ privacy at these destinations). We also passed the huge Jongensgat (a hole in the rocks) and the view from the ‘lookout’ point is absolutely beautiful.
It was low tide and we walked on the beach at some places (we will wear hiking shoes next time as sand in our open “off-road” shoes was quite uncomfortable) and saw quite a few of the endangered Black Oystercatchers. It is their breeding season now (between November and March) and hikers are warned to take care around these birds (note the boards that are erected at Jongensfontein).
The route will take hikers past the ancient fish traps at Skulpiesbaai (always a special place to visit – and the historic fish traps deserve their own write-up) all the way to Morris Point close to the harbour and yes, the total distance is about 11 kilometres.
It is an enjoyable (quite easy) and beautifully scenic hike (more photos here) we can definitely recommend.

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A scenic hike between Jongensfontein and Stilbaai (Photo by www.mystilbaai.co.za)

It is not every day that a ‘new’ plant species is being discovered and then named after the person who discovered it!
Well, this happened recently at  Stilbaai when local resident, Angela Noske, discovered a new plant close to a hanger at the Stilbaai Airfield on the outskirts of the Pauline Bohnen Nature Reserve. This plant is now aptly named the ‘Hermannia Angela’.

The ‘Hermannia Angela’, a new plant species discovered at Stilbaai