In today’s adventure hike along the south Cape coast of Africa, I was able to add an educational element by revisiting one of my favorite spots on these shores – Matjies River. At this little hidden beach, there is an epic historical and archaeological site said to be the ancient home of the original indigenous inhabitants of this coastline – The Khoi bushmen.
I have mentioned this site before but it is such a fascinating place, that I wanted to visit it again and share the hidden gem with you. The actual region is called the Garden Route, perhaps the most picturesque part of the entire southern African coastline. And this little piece of beach where the ancient site is found, is known as Keurbooms beach.
Right at the end of the beach, which is just outside the town of Plettenebrg Bay, you will find Enrico’s restaurant, a place for top quality Italian food, situated right on the shore line, overlooking the Indian ocean that laps up against the foundations of the outdoor patio of the restaurant itself.
If you pass the restaurant and head west along the beach, you will come to a River called the Matjies, which is from the vernacular Afrikaans (and originally Dutch) language and means “friends”, or “mates”. Here at this epic, remote, isolated little river mouth, the fresh water trickles toward the Indian ocean, and was once the habitable base for a tribe of indigenous nomad stone age “bushmen” as they were once known.
This archaeological site has been excavated and found to have traces of habitation going back tens of thousands of years. Now that’s way before even the first black African tribes – the Nguni Zulu and Xhosa – migrated southward from Central Africa. And as the European settlers arrived on these shores in the 17th century, they encountered these short-statured local tribes people who wore no clothes to speak of and had no concept of ownership.
Sadly these little people were mostly victimized and eradicated by the stronger black Africans and the white settlers over time. Still, their descendants reside in the interior Kalahari desert that spans South Africa, Namibia and Botswana today. They live much like the native Indigenous American tribes people – on reservations and in poverty and neglect.
Their language is fortunately being preserved, as attempts are made to capture it before it is lost forever. The coat of arms of South Africa has two Khoi/San bushmen on it and their language is the one used in the motto on the coat of arms. It translates as “Diverse peoples unite”.
This beautiful paradise beach, with it’s fresh water stream, was once the resting spot of the Cape Khoi as they roamed these shores, sometimes with large herds of cattle, moving from location to location all along the southern shoreline of Africa.
I noticed that the site had some very informative description boards, which you can see here in the photos today. I would recommend a visit to this place if you are a history, anthropology or archaeology lover.
Even if that’s not your interest, still this little beach is a hidden gem that could be situated in any tropical island paradise on the planet. It is just a dream setting to live the eternal now, like a place that time forgot.
And you would never know it was here unless folks like me shared their epic travel discoveries with you, which is why I love blogging my travels along the blissful shoreline of Africa’s south coast. Be sure to come check out this epic travel destination when you’re next in the region. You can thank me later.
(photos my own)