June 2022

As promised in our previous post, we are taking you down to the beach at Gonubie today.

Gonubie is known as the holiday village of East London … and it’s easy to see why. The beautiful beach has hosted many popular events such as rubber duck- and surfing championships. It has a wonderful boardwalk that provides fantastic views across the sea and the Gonubie (or Gqunube) River Mouth is also a fun place to explore.

On our way to the beach, we walked pass a few lovely sights. There were a decorated surfboard mounted against a lamp pole and succulents that were planted in fun “pot holders”, like wheelbarrows and a boat.

One of many decorated surfboards we saw on our way to the beach
Succulents in fun “pot holders”

At the beach, you have the best of both worlds. On the one side, there are big rocks where waves are crashing and fishermen eagerly standing with their rods, while on the other side is a lovely sandy beach.

A rocky beach – ideal for fishermen
At the parking area in front of the ocean
A great slogan: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”
Lovely mosaic work at the parking bay

As mentioned earlier, there is a great boardwalk from the parking area to the beach (very conveniently going over the rocks).

The start of the 500m long boardwalk from the parking bay

On the one side of the boardwalk is a tidal pool and on the other side high dunes with vegetation.

Dunes with vegetation on the left and the tidal pool on the right
A view over the tidal pool
Looking towards the beach (left) and back to the parking bay (right)

Once we reached the end of the boardwalk, steps took us directly on the lovely white sand of the beach. This must be a great spot for beachgoers during the summer months … we did dip our feet into the water of the Indian Ocean, but it was definitely too cold to go in deeper.

A white sandy beach at Gonubie
The dunes and boardwalk along the ocean
The beach at Gonubie
The end of the boardwalk (or the start if you’re coming from the beach)
There are a couple of benches where one can rest and enjoy the views

On the other side of the boardwalk and parking bay, there are a hiking path on grass which are running close to the ocean. We took this path and saw a couple of fishermen on the rocks.

Fishermen on the rocks
An information board on which fish can be found on the south coast
More mosaic pots on the hiking path

There are a few coffee shops and restaurants at the side of the main road. After all the walking, it was certainly time for lunch and when we saw the sign for the “Heavenly Pancake House”, we just had to stop there.

Heavenly Pancake House
We had a table on the outside deck

I love pancake in any form – rolled up or filled, whether it’s sweet or savoury, anything will do! I ordered the Hawaiian pancake while Berto’s choice fell on a steak roll. We enjoyed our lunch and will definitely visit the Heavenly Pancake House again. 

My pancake and Berto’s (big) steak roll

Our first introduction to (one) of the beaches of East London was great! We can’t wait to visit the other beaches and river mouths – yes, there’s more. But I’m sure we’ll come back again (and again) to Gonubie beach as this a lovely place to either enjoy a stroll on the beach or having lunch with a view! We hope you have enjoyed this just as much as we did!

The view of the Indian Ocean from Gonubie beach