Kromme River, St Francis Bay

St Francis Bay Rural and Kromme River  

Information largely sourced from "The Monument around us"- R N Simpson

In 1954 Leighton Hulett and his wife Ann spotted an advertisement in the Farmers Weekly offering 273 morgen of the ideal fishing land along the coast for £1750, which they bought, went back to Zululand to sell their cane farm and returned to the area with their children.

Mule carts and ox wagons were used to transport their belongings over the miles of sand dunes where they then settled in a 100 year old shack.

Leighton then started building a fishing camp with 7 thatched rondavels, an ablution block and kitchen.

Regular visitors started discussing the idea of having a place of their own, which led to a small township of 51 plots being laid out in 1956 with the name Cape St Francis, then changed to Sea Vista in 1959 and finally St Francis Bay in 1979.

Leighton insisted on maintaining a certain conformity in the style of building which blended in with the natural beauty of the environment.

Farmers settled all along the Kromme River of which some have been subdivided into small holdings.  Just south of the Kromme River bridge, you will find Waterberry Park.  A lovely setup with accommodation for backpackers, Teepee's, Caravan stands and a lovely restaurant and swimming pool.

On the dirt road to Oyster Bay, you will find three estates, namely Candlewoods, River Glades and Goedgeloof. These properties have access to the Kromme River.  

Further along, there are many lifestyle properties where you could build a house off the grid.

The Equestrian farm, "The Homestead" offers stabling of horses, riding and show jumping lessons.