Description: Stay in a lighthouse! Cape Recife Lighthouse Villa offers a unique beachfront escape in Port Elizabeth. Self-catering, stunning ocean views. Ideal for couples, families, or adventurers. Book your Gqeberha (PE) stay today!
family friendly (740) bird watching (314) scenic flights (19) lighthouse tours (4) cape recife lighthouse coastal marine safari reef life walks and hikes botanical tour
The Eastern Cape, with its mild climate, renowned beauty and natural biodiversity is an outstanding destination rich with potential. Some 15 kilometres south of the pretty coastal city of Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), at the southern point of Algoa Bay, is the 366 ha (900 acre) Cape Recife Nature Reserve, proclaimed in 1973. Untouched and little-known, the Reserve is an extraordinarily beautiful and elemental stretch of wild coastal space.
The original Portuguese name translates to “Cape of the reefs”, a reference to the geological features of this south-eastern part of South Africa’s coastline upon which many ships met their end. For this reason, an historic lighthouse was built on this promontory.
The Cape Recife Lighthouse was built in 1851 and the first light beamed across the ocean on 1 April of that year. The lighthouse warns passing ships of the dangers of the romantically named Thunderbolt Reef – named after the HMS Thunderbolt, a British Royal Navy Sail and Paddle Frigate. Several natural hazards such as Thunderbolt Reef and Roman Rock, not far offshore, have claimed many a ship.