Cape St Francis

The Cape St Francis Nature Reserve lies between the villages of Cape St Francis and St Francis Bay and extends to the tip of the Cape St Francis headland, locally referred to as Shark Point.

In the Cape St Francis Nature area, the wetlands in the hollows between ridges have wild mint and fonteinbos, while reeds and sedges are found in the depressions between the mobile dune ridges.

Along the sandy shore and above the high tide line are hummock dunes which are small wind-driven sand heaps around pioneer plants such as the sand dollar, sea pumpkin and strandpatat.

A unique feature is the dune field at the eastern end of the Cape St Francis beach towards Shark Point.  It comprises a corridor of mobile dunes which allow sand to move from Seal Bay into St Francis Bay and is termed a headland-bypass dune field.  It is probably the best remaining (semi-) active example of its kind in the world and serves as an integral part of the coastal sand transport system.