The Knysna Heads are a pair of sandstone cliffs that separate the Knysna Lagoon from the sea beyond; a famous landmark along the renowned Garden Route.
Knysna’s unusual name probably comes from the indigenous Khoikhoi word meaning “ferns” as the area was covered in near-impenetrable indigenous forests. In 1804, George Rex (a Cape Town timber merchant rumoured to be the illegitimate son of King George III) bought the land around the lagoon, Melkhoutkraal, from one Stefanus Terblans and founded the town. Later, in 1816, he acquired the farm Welbedacht, which he renamed Eastford.
Rex found that transporting timber by ox wagon to Cape Town was a near-impossibility and so set about investigating the possibility of building jetties and transporting the timber by sea through the treacherous Knysna Heads. Although the first European ship, Emu, to enter the Heads ran aground, eventually a fairly safe route was found after the HMS Podargus successfully navigated the Heads and Knysna was put on the map as the heart of South Africa’s timber industry.
Despite many shipwrecks in the treacherous straits, timber exports from Knysna harbour continued until 1954 when the harbour was closed to cargo and became a small boat harbour, as it remains to this day.
The Eastern Head is easily accessible by car and has many spectacular viewpoints overlooking the channel, Indian Ocean, the Knysna Lagoon and estuary, and the Outeniqua Mountains. In fact, it was because of its excellent lookout that the National Sea Rescue Institute (Station 12, Knysna) chose to build its observation room here overlooking The Heads, which have become infamous due to the loss of boats and fishermen passing through their treacherous and unpredictable waters.
There is also easy access to rock pools and beaches from the Eastern Head.
The Western Head is accessible only by ferry, and forms part of the privately owned Featherbed Nature Reserve.
WARNING: This is a VERY HIGH MUGGLE ZONE! Please exercise extreme caution in retrieving the cache to ensure its location remains protected. Please ensure the cache is secure and cannot be dislodged by high winds that regularly batter this coastline.
CACHE DISCRIPTION: The cache is a magnetized lozenge container. Make sure the cache is closed tightly.