Coffee Bay

Afrikaans name: Koffiebaai

Coffee Bay

Photo © Johan van Zyl

Eastern Cape

The small village of Coffee Bay is situated on a stretch of beautiful coastline, known as the "Wild Coast", in the Eastern Cape province. The surrounding area is still very rural and the town itself only has a population of a few hundred people. The nearest town of any significance is Mthatha which is 95 km away.

The village is at the mouth of the Nenga River which means 'river of the whale'. Two other rivers, the Mapuzi and Mtata, flow into the sea nearby.

The name Coffee Bay comes from an incident in 1863 when a ship, laden with coffee beans, ran aground here. Somehow some beans reached the shoreline and the coffee plants grew naturally in the area for a few years.

Coffee Bay has a lot to offer visitors including great beaches, scenery, fishing, hiking, birding and more. A few kilometres south of Coffee Bay is the magnificent Hole in the Wall which is definitely worth a visit.

Have you visited Coffee Bay? Would you recommend it?

Above - Coffee Bay shop

Photo © Johan van Zyl

Above - Coastline just south from Coffee Bay

Photo © Johan van Zyl

References and further reading

Things ewe never knewe about South African place names - Author: Ann Gadd - Published: 2015 - Page: 41

Places to Visit in Southern Africa - Author: AA RSA - Published: 1995 - Page: 173

Readers Digest Illustrated Guide to Southern Africa - 4th edition - Author: - Published: 1986 - Page: 397

Road Tripping South Africa - Author: MapStudio - Published: 2014 - Page: 96

Southern Africa from the Highway - Author: AA RSA - Published: 1991 - Page: 212

The Pictorial Motoring Atlas of South Africa - Author: Maxwell Leigh - Published: 1987 - Page: 111

On Route - Explore South Africa region by region - 3rd edition - Author: B.P.J. Erasmus - Published: 2014 - Page: 206

go! - Issue 127 - Author: - Published: 2017 - Page: 32

go! - Issue 136 - Author: - Published: 2017 - Page: 50

On Route - A region by region guide to South Africa - Author: B.P.J. Erasmus - Published: 1995 - Page: 107

go! - Issue 087 - Author: - Published: 2013 - Page: 115

go! - Issue 089 - Author: - Published: 2013 - Page: 146

Getaway - Vol 30 No 06 - Author: - Published: 2018 - Page: 53

Getaway - Vol 33 No 02 - Author: - Published: 2021 - Page: 22

Conollys Guide to Southern Africa - 2nd edition - Author: Denis Conolly - Published: 1982 - Page: 172

For more info: Coffee Bay Wild Coast

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