Area guide

Cape St Francis

Cape St Francis is a small coastal village on a headland in the Kouga Municipality of the Eastern Cape, a few kilometres past St Francis Bay at the end of the R330. It is known for Seal Point Lighthouse, the surf break from the 1966 film The Endless Summer, and a 5 km beach that runs between Shark Point and Seal Point.

Cape St Francis is one of the quietest addresses on this coast. The village was proclaimed in 1965 and is surrounded by four municipal nature reserves, so much of the land around it will stay open.

Most visitors arrive on the R330, which runs from Humansdorp past St Francis Bay and ends here. Gqeberha's airport is roughly an hour and a half away by road, about 10 minutes further than from St Francis Bay.

Seal Point Estates works from 5 Da Gama Road in the village, a few minutes from the lighthouse.

Seal Point Lighthouse and the Cape St Francis headland from the air

Cape St Francis at a glance

Municipality
Kouga Local Municipality, Eastern Cape
St Francis Bay
About 10 minutes by road
Gqeberha airport
Roughly 1.5 hours by road
Landmarks
Seal Point Lighthouse (1878), Bruce's Beauties, Seal Point
Nature reserves
Four, about 132 ha in total
Property24, 6 October 2026
13 for sale, average asking price R7,653,077

What is Seal Point Lighthouse?

Seal Point Lighthouse stands at the southern tip of Cape St Francis. It was first lit on 4 July 1878, cost £20,000 to build and still works today, with a range of 28 nautical miles. The circular masonry tower is about 28 m tall, and St Francis Tourism and SA History Online both describe it as the tallest masonry lighthouse on the South African coast. It was declared a National Monument in 1984 and has a small museum inside.

The 38 ha Seal Point Nature Reserve around it has two short walks, the Lighthouse Trail and the Seal Point Trail, and eight endangered plant species.

Where is Bruce's Beauties, the wave from The Endless Summer?

In The Endless Summer (1966), surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August walk over a dune at Cape St Francis and find a long, perfect right-hand point break. The wave was later named Bruce's Beauties, after the film's director Bruce Brown. It is often confused with Seal Point, which is a separate right-hand break at the lighthouse.

Bruce's Beauties largely disappeared after the 1960s, once development stabilised the dunes that fed sand to the point. Surfer reported in October 2025 that it has started breaking again, helped by a coastal protection project that includes sand replenishment.

What nature reserves are in Cape St Francis?

Four municipal nature reserves surround the village, covering about 132 ha: Cape St Francis, Seal Bay, Irma Booysen and Seal Point. FOSTER, the Friends of St Francis Nature Areas, manages them under an agreement with Kouga Municipality. Together they hold about 400 indigenous plant species. The Irma Booysen Flora Reserve is entered from Birkenhead Lane.

Older guides still mention a penguin centre here. The SANCCOB seabird centre in Cape St Francis closed in 2018 and its birds moved to SANCCOB in Gqeberha.

What is it like to live in Cape St Francis?

Cape St Francis is small and residential, with a strong say from its residents. The Cape St Francis Civic & Ratepayers Association keeps an eye on municipal services under the motto "Keep it green, keep it clean, keep it small".

The houses are more varied than in the white-walled village of St Francis Bay. Kouga Municipality's architectural guidelines describe the homes here as varied in shape, size and design. Cape St Francis Resort, with its Joe Fish restaurant, is in the village. Shops, schools and the two golf courses are a short drive away in St Francis Bay.

What kind of property is in Cape St Francis?

Cape St Francis is mostly freestanding homes, from beach cottages to large family houses, with the odd vacant stand. The houses vary in style, and many look over the beach, the point or the nature reserves.

Not much comes up for sale at once, because the village is small and bounded by protected land. On 6 October 2026 Property24 listed 13 properties for sale in Cape St Francis, at an average asking price of R7,653,077 and from R1.99 million to R15 million. With so few on the market, that average swings a lot.

Prices move with the market and with each home's position and view, so for a current figure on a home like yours, ask Seal Point Estates for a market value estimation.

Buying or selling in Cape St Francis?

Talk to Jal Rigaard, principal agent at Seal Point Estates, on +27 72 559 0575. No-obligation market value estimations.

View listings Get a market value estimation

Other areas we cover

St Francis Bay The white-walled village on the Kromme River, with two golf courses. St Francis canals Waterfront homes with private jetties onto the Kromme River. Santareme Mediterranean-style homes and sea views across Harbour Road from the village. Port St Francis A working chokka harbour with a marina village of apartments.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Facts on this page come from: