Upmarket Plettenberg Bay, 30 kilometres east of Knysna, is the holiday playground of the wealthy. A coat of lagoons, rivers and 12 kilometres of white beaches, Plett, as it is called by the locals, earned the name Bahia Formosa – beautiful bay – from early Portuguese sailors.

The village is perched on red sandstone cliffs that rise above the coastline and the lagoon formed by the Keurbooms and Bietour rivers. Plett’s most recognized feature is a large luxury hotel and timeshare complex on Beacon Isle.

South of the village, the Robberg Nature and Marine Reserve juts out into the sea, its cliffs rising to 148 metres in places. A series of walking trails affords contrasting views of the dramatically churning seas and pristine secluded bays where anglers try their hand at catching elf, mussel cracked, galjoen and red roman in the deep, natural galleys.