Plettenberg Bay is a town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. This bustling seaside town is world famous for its scenic beauty and is popular with both local and domestic visitors. It was originally named "Bahia Formosa" (beautiful bay) by early Portuguese explorers and lies on South Africa's spectacular Garden Route 210 km from Port Elizabeth and +/- 600 km from Cape Town. Caves in Nelson's Bay Cave and Matjies River Cave at nearby Keurboomstrand indicate they were inhabited for over 100000 years by Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) man and then later by ancestors of the Khoisan, who were possibly the same people who traded with the Portuguese survivors of the San Gonzales shipwreck. Their tools, ornaments and food debris can be viewed in these caves, which are still being excavated. Plettenberg Bay hosts one of the largest seagull breading colonies along the South African coast at the mouth of the Keurboom's River, named after the indigenous keurboom tree. Local vegetation varies from Cape Fynbos to indigenous forest further inland.Whales are a common site in the bay during their breeding season, while dolphins are frequently seen in the surf. A delicate flower-shaped sea shell called a pansy shell is endemic to this part of the coast, and is used as the symbol representing the town. Looking for these shells on the beach is a popular activity amongst visitors and locals alike. Robberg Peninsula is maintained as a nature reserve, allowing visitors to see many of the area's local plants and animals.

Plettenberg Bay is typified by an extremely mild maritime temperate climate with very few rainfall or temperature extremes. It is located within the Knysna Afromontane Forest biome, containing temperate gallery forest, supported by the mild temperatures and high, even distributed rainfall. Tourism is a thriving industry in this area, starting in November when teenage school leavers are the first to descend upon the small town, followed thereafter by various waves of arrivals from abroad as well as other parts of South Africa. The infrastructure of the town struggles to cope at the peak of the summer season, with traffic congestion, food shortages and booked-out restaurants being common. Plettenberg Bay is also home to the world's first multi species free-roaming primate sanctuary Monkeyland, as well as the largest bird cage in the world, the Birds of Eden Sanctuary.

Wikipedia articles for Plettenberg Bay

• Cape Seal Lighthouse