Sedgefield: A Garden Route summer in SA’s first ‘Slow Town’
If you’ve ever travelled the N2 that runs between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, you will have passed through the Garden Route village of Sedgefield. But chances are you wouldn’t have given the mundane row of shops and commercial buildings on either side of the highway a second glance.
But you’d have missed out. Because Sedgefield boasts great beaches, a river and lagoon ideal for watersports, world-class parasailing, hugely popular village markets and even a business that manufactures paper from elephant poo (…yes, really).
The first time Bomber Webb, long-serving editor of The Edge local newspaper, drove through town, he told his wife, “Shoot me if I ever settle here”. He did settle, she never shot him, and now he’s among the village’s biggest fans.
“It’s only when you start looking around that you realise what Sedgefield has; there are more – and better – beaches than Knysna, for example. There’s also a great community spirit,” he says.
Five pristine beaches to choose from
In all, there are five beaches. Myoli and Swartvlei are the busiest in peak season. Gericke’s Point is great for fishing, exploring rock pools and watching the parasailers jumping from the towering sand dune above the point.
Cola and Platbank beaches are the one’s you’ll thank me for telling you about – although the locals may feel otherwise. They’re largely deserted, have wide expanses of sand and are great for long walks. Platbank is also a good fishing spot and a popular breeding ground for bird species such as the Africa Black Oystercatcher and White-fronted Plover.
If you have kiddies and want calmer water for swimming and body-boarding, as well as protection from the wind, then the Sedgefield Lagoon Mouth is a good place to spend time. But be warned that it can be very busy in season.
Don’t miss popular Saturday morning market vibe
For visitors and locals alike, visiting “the market” on a Saturday morning is a must-do. It’s actually three adjacent markets all with different products and their own individual vibe.
But, in practical terms, it is one market offering everything from fresh produce to flowers and herbs, meals, delicious pies via the long-established Steam Whistle Stop pies, arts and crafts, alternative clothing – and a lot more besides.
Some Sedgefielders make a living from pies, others make it from poo.
Scarab Paper, which has a permanent shop and small factory at the Scarab Market, is definitely worth a visit. Here they take elephant dung gathered at the Garden Route’s two elephant sanctuaries and turn it into paper and paper-based artworks. And no, if you hang an artwork in your lounge at home it won’t smell.
Slow down when in Sedgefield
Talk to the locals and a sense of community, togetherness and caring for each other keeps coming through. Perhaps it’s best encapsulated in the Slow Town ethos.
Sedgefield prides itself on being South Africa’s first “Slow Town”, an Italian concept that’s about avoiding the rush, enjoying life and encouraging people to stop and smell the proverbial roses.
The rat race is definitely not part of the local lifestyle.
Elderly artists sit under towering trees in the main street, busily painting town scenes. Many people don’t bother with cars and simply cycle around town, or walk. Vehicles with bumper stickers that read “Don’t rush me – I’m a local” are a common sight.
Sedgefield has adopted the tortoise, which is endemic to the area, as its Slow Town emblem. Indeed, you’ll find mosaic tortoises all over town.
Mosaic tortoises, fish and even an octopus
They’re the creation of Masithandane, a local non-profit organisation that cares for people of all ages who are in need, as well as promoting skills development initiatives among the unemployed.
Apart from the tortoises, you’ll find everything from mosaic benches to mosaic fish, an orca and even a giant octopus that forms the centre piece of an interactive and child-friendly mosaic garden.
If you want to take it slow and easy at the beach this festive season, Sedgefield may just be the place to do it.
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