34 South Stories - 34 South

The Secret Life of the 34 South Bakery

Dewald Gerber — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0200

Before the First Guest Arrives

Long before the first coffee is poured, the bakery is already alive.

Flour hangs in the air like a soft mist. Hands move with quiet confidence, kneading, folding, shaping. There’s no rush, just rhythm. Dough is worked the way it has been for generations, guided more by feel than by clock.

This is where the day at 34 South really begins.

The Oven Orchestra

As the ovens heat up, the bakery shifts gears.

Loaves slide in pale and promising, and emerge golden, crackling, alive. Croissants rise into buttery constellations, their layers whispering secrets of patience and precision.

There’s a kind of music here, not loud, but steady. The opening and closing of oven doors. The soft thud of dough on a workbench. The quiet satisfaction of something going exactly right.

The Characters Behind the Counter

Every loaf has fingerprints. Not literally, but almost.

There’s the early riser who knows exactly when the dough is ready without looking. The perfectionist who lines up pastries like they’re on parade. The quiet grafter who somehow keeps everything moving when it gets busy.

They don’t just bake. They read the room, the weather, the pace of the day. Some mornings call for more of one thing, less of another. Regulars have their favourites, and somehow, those favourites are always ready.

When Knysna Walks In

Then, almost without warning, the world arrives.

Coffee orders start rolling in. The display fills and empties in waves. Someone points at a loaf they didn’t plan to buy. Someone else asks, “What’s fresh?” knowing the answer is… everything.

There’s a small kind of magic in watching someone take that first bite. A pause. A nod. Sometimes a smile that says more than words ever could.

The Things You Don’t See

What guests don’t always see is the in-between.

The careful measuring. The waiting. The starting again when something isn’t quite right. The quiet reset after the rush, trays stacked, surfaces wiped, the space returning to stillness.

Because tomorrow, it all begins again.

More Than Bread

The bakery isn’t just part of 34 South. It’s its heartbeat in the early hours. It’s where patience turns into flavour, where routine becomes craft, and where something as simple as bread carries the story of the place.

By the time you arrive, everything is ready.

But the real story?
It started hours before… with flour on hands and the first flicker of oven light.

Learn more about our bakery and product: Bakery

10 reasons to visit Knysna

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0200

Oysters

The real Knysna Oyster grows wild on the rocks along our coast, and if you know where to look – and you have the right fishing license – you can dive them out yourself. Most people, though, prefer to enjoy these luscious bivalves in luxury and style at restaurants like 34 South, where strictly controlled oyster fishers deliver them daily, and where we keep them fresh in our specially-designed oyster tanks.

We serve our oysters in the restaurant newly-shucked and dressed or raw, and we also sell them packed for consumption at home – shucked or closed, depending on how long they’re going to be travelling.

More about oysters at our latitude here

Boat rides

It’s probably written into the statute books somewhere: if you visit Knysna, you have to go on a cruise on the Knysna Lagoon. And the Knysna Lagoon is synonymous with boat rides – from luxury floating restaurants like the John Benn and Paddle Cruiser, to trips to The Heads on board the Three Legs Rivercat, on one of the historic boats of the Magic Lagoon Charters fleet, or aboard one of Knysna Charters’ intimate oyster boats. For sailing cruises – which generally go beyond The Heads – visit Ocean Sailing Charters on Thesen Island, or Ocean Odyssey’s luxury Yacht Outeniqua, which operates out of the Knysna Waterfront.

Oh, and especially for the kids, there’s the Knysna Pirate Ship Zamani – which also departs from the Knysna Waterfront.

Art

Knysna is the soul’s heart of the Garden Route: not surprising really, given the amazing beauty of the place. And this is why it’s always been the muse and inspiration for so many fine artists.

Begin your exploratory tour of Knysna’s many art offerings at one of South Africa’s finest and largest art galleries: Knysna Fine Art, which specialises in contemporary South African art in a variety of media.

Then head out into the streets to hunt for the many installations of the Knysna interactive art route, with pieces ranging from oversized sculptures to murals and mosaics placed strategically around the town. One such mural – inspired by local author Dalene Matthee’s novel “Kringe in ‘n Bos” – covers the south wall of the town hall, and comprises 81 individual paintings that explore the Knysna Forest and all the things that make Knysna unique. And in Buffalo Bay, a series of paintings and mosaics explores the themes of surfing and the beach – with bus stops and braai places zhoozhed up in the fun and exciting colours of summer.

Up at Judah Square in Khayalethu – home of the largest community of Rastafarians in South Africa – a 2.2 metre statue of a Rasta priest welcomes visitors with his hands posed in the traditional Rastafari diamond gesture: a symbol of the Seal of Solomon.

Closer to home here at 34 South, the entire collection of the Knysna Arts Society’s ‘Unblocked’ exhibition – themed 'Fifty Shades of Green' – has been placed on permanent display on the walls outside our southern entrance, while a new series of mosaics depicting the Knysna seahorse has been installed along the road between The Waterfront and Thesen Islands.

More about art in Knysna here.

Knysna seahorse

The Knysna River Estuary is the second largest in South Africa, and the most biodiverse: there are more species of fish, plants, and mammals in the Knysna Lagoon than in any other lagoon in the country.

Amongst all these species, the town of Knysna has adopted one – the Knysna seahorse – as its special mascot. And for good reason, too: the seahorse is an indicator species that signals the health of its environment, and the Knysna seahorse (Hippocampus capensis) lives in only three places in the world – in the lagoons of Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, and Sedgefield.

Seahorses aren’t generally easy to see when you’re swimming in the lagoon, so we suggest you visit SANParks’ Garden Route National Park offices on Thesen’s Wharf, where you’ll find a tank that houses a number of specimens.

Whales & dolphins

Ask anyone with their eyes on our coastline: you can see marine mammals at almost any time of the year from the cliffs and hills on our Indian Ocean seafront. And there’s also a licensed boat-based whale and dolphin-watching tour operator – Ocean Odyssey – which offers marine eco-tours (daily, weather permitting).

Dolphins on our coast include bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins, and humpback dolphins, while you could see Bryde’s whales and orcas at any time of the year, and the migratory southern right whales and humpback whales from about June to November.

Forests & walking

Knysna is situated at the heart of more than 60,000 hectares of indigenous forest – much of which comes under the protection of the 230,000 hectare Garden Route National Park.

You need to explore them while you’re here.

These forests are magical and mystical, and have inspired artists and writers for generations: for one of the best experiences of the forests, visit the Dalene Matthee memorial on the Rooted in Time self-drive tour – and while you’re in the area, try out some of the walking paths (detailed in the same link).

Oh, and yes - there are still elephants in the Knysna forests. Very little chance you’ll see one, but still…

Birding

If you’re a bird lover, you’re going to love Knysna. The presence of so many eco-systems within close proximity of one another – parkland, forest, fynbos, estuarine, ocean, coastal, freshwater – ensures a surprising variety. You can do your birding virtually anywhere: look out for icons like the Knysna woodpecker, the Knysna warbler, the Knysna loerie, and the narina trogon, and keep your eyes peeled for African fish eagles and numerous other birds of prey, as well as for the little guys like the malachite kingfisher, or the surprisingly lovely Klaas’s cuckoo.

More information from SANParks.

Mountain biking

Forest roads, plantations, fynbos, trail parks, and fantastic annual races and events – Knysna was built for mountain bikers, so bring your wheels when you come to visit us – or rent them from one of the many professional MTB shops and workshops in the town.

For trails, single tracks, and pump tracks, visit the Garden Route Trail Park near Karatara, and for general information about riding in the area - and for cycling supplies and bike servicing - visit Knysna Cycle Works.

Beaches

Knysna offers both lagoon and coastal beaches for you to enjoy:

Bollard Bay on Leisure Isle (Knysna Lagoon) – popular for its calm, shallow water; a regular spot for watching the sunset (especially if you have a couple of beach chairs and a glass or two of bubbles!). Easily accessible from the car park – no steep dunes or steps to climb;
Brenton-on-Sea – a quiet beach about 15 km from the centre of town, Brenton stretches westwards to meet up with Buffalo Bay Beach about 3 km down the coast. Brenton is also the site of Die Blokke, a large rocky formation that’ll reward oyster fishers on the right tide. One thing: the walk from the carpark to the beach is rather steep;
Buffalo Bay – About 30 km from the centre of town in the Goukamma Nature Reserve, 'Buffs' is Knysna’s most popular beach - often packed in season, but quiet during most of the rest of the year. The walk at low tide along the sand to Brenton-on-Sea is one of those ‘must-do’ things in Knysna that we can’t recommend highly enough. There’s also an inland, self-guided walk that starts east of the last house on the bayside.

The Heads: attitude at our latitude

Two sandstone headlands that enclose the Knysna River Estuary and form the river mouth, the Knysna Heads must surely rank as one of South Africa’s most iconic geological formations.

The Heads are as essential to the mystery and mystique of Knysna as are the Knysna Forests and the Knysna Lagoon.

You can visit the Eastern Head on your own – drive along George Rex Drive, and either take the left fork towards the highest lookout point and (over the mountain) to the little beach at Coney Glen, or follow George Rex until you come to the turning circle, where you can park and walk down to the water’s edge at Fountain Point.

If you want to visit the Western Head, though, you’ll need to go on a tour organised by Featherbed Nature Reserve, which owns the land. The tour includes return boat trips from the company’s jetty on the North Shore, and a 2.2 km guided coastal walk through the thicket and Knysna sands fynbos that characterise the natural vegetation of the area.

Either way, just standing on The Heads – or even just looking at them from any of a number of viewpoints in Knysna – there’s no doubt: These imposing cliffs goo real attitude at our latitude.

For more about Knysna, go to visitknysna.co.za

Wine decanter or wine aerator - which should I use?

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0200

The main end results of both decanters and aerators is to maximise the contact with oxygen in order to allow the wine to develop more intensive aromas, while at the same time softening the tannins and thereby creating a lighter ethanol taste to the wine through the ‘evaporation’ of alcohol.

Decanters and decanting: pros and cons

Decanters were created to separate the sediment in the bottles of older vintages and non-filtered wines.

By default, the wine aerates, but in a longer and much gentler process.

This gentler process makes it perfect for older vintages that are more delicate.
Aeration through decanting is a longer process. Depending on the wine, it can take anything from 20min to 3 hours for sediment to settle from the clear wine
It is perfect for intensely tannic wines. It is not recommended for lighter wines like pinot noir
It also increases the temperature of the wine from cellar to serving
A decanter is less likely to spill wine than many aerators
Decanters are generally made of glass or crystal and come in interesting shapes. However they are generally fragile, can chip or break easily, and are sometimes not easy to clean because of their shape
As oxidation takes place over a much longer period, wines can be managed and tested at intervals to ensure serving at the perfect moment
Younger, lighter wines which don't have sediment don't have to be decanted and if left too long may fall flat in flavour, however they do look stylish in a decanter!
Decanting is a time-honoured tradition, perfect for older wines, and/or if you want to add some “flair” to a dinner party.

Aerators: pros and cons

Thanks to technology, we now have appliances made for quick aeration, for on-the-spot wine consuming. Created for the sole purpose of increasing oxidation quickly and immediately Aerators allow the wine to “breath”, smoothing and bringing out the aromas and heightening the intended taste of the wine.

Ideal for younger, “tight’er” or “closed” red wines, they can be used on heavy chardonnays or over chilled white wines, however not recommended for all white wines
Also great for full bodied reds like cabernet and shiraz. However multiple sources will tell you that wines over 10-15 years should not be aerated as the aged wines delicateness will lose the last fruit flavours left over and could make a wine flat
It is an immediate process, so no need to wait before enjoying the wine
Softens tannins and helps to balance the fruit and acid to make the wine flavours shine through
They are generally easier to store and easier to clean
Aerators won't address or separate the sediment in an older wine.
Aerators are imprecise, different wine cultivars and vintages will react differently to forced aeration. So, you do need to be careful if you are not already aware of what the aerator does to the wine
Not always the most visually appealing product to put on the top of a bottle, but definitely a talking point

In conclusion, aerators are great for quick easy aerating, especially for younger, full-bodied wines. If used on older wines, be careful and test it before serving to friends.

So do I choose a decanter or an aerator?

Ultimately there are three factors to think off when choosing a decanter or an aerator:

Ease of use - cleaning, easy to handle and time needed for aeration.
Effectiveness - are you an old vs young, red vs white wine drinker
Sensory stimulation - plastic vs steel, glass vs crystal, modern vs classic

Different types of decanters and aerators exist on the market. On the decanter side, you have glass or crystal and you can get them in 1000 of different shapes and sizes.

On the aerator side, you have ones you hold over a glass and others which go in the top of the bottle. Some even keep the wine chilled.

There are different designs and spouts, differ materials used to make the item, durability, countries of origin and as always brand names.

Whether you buy a cheaper or a more expensive decanter or aerator, they will ultimately do the same thing: oxidise and aerate the wine. One might take longer, one might break less easily, spill less, but both are guaranteed to impress.

Click here for more about our FINE & Rare wines

PeeBee's wine notes September 2022

Mon, 19 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0200

Grangehurst Pinotage 2008

Jeremy Walker made his first wines in the family squash court in Stellenbosch after graduating from UCT. This led to a full-time involvement, and in 1993, Jeremy became a founder of the Pinotage Association. A modest and focussed guy, he is a member of the Cape Winemakers’ Guild, and has learnt to appreciate releasing a wine after it has served 2 years in oak and at least 3 years in the bottle - akin to what is done in Spain’s famed Rioja region.

A true reflection of Stellenbosch and of tradition.

Jeremy Walker’s Grangehurst Nikela

Jeremy, on qualifying from UCT, changed his hobby into his career - making red wine, initially in the family’s squash court. In 1993 he joined the Pinotage Association, which decreed that a ‘Cape Blend’ must have 24% Pinotage – and this is what he did to this wine. 24% pinotage with the same amount of Shiraz, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 8% Merlot, fermented separately in barrels for 28 months, and only released a decade later.

‘Nikela’ means the offering of a gift to one’s ancestors.

Cederberg 5 Generations Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

David Niewoudt, 5th generation on his farm in the high-lying, cool Cederberg Mountains, is proud of the ‘Stellenbosch Taken to the Hills’ farm producing 50% red, 50% white of the traditional cultivars since 1973. Only 3,000 bottles of this particular wine are produced – mostly for the Winemakers’ Guild. Blackcurrant, cassis, cherry, tobacco - a symphony of tastes. The wine will mature for many a year. Great to experience ripe tannins, rich fruit, tightness. 18 months in new French oak. In great demand in foreign lands.

10 reasons to shop at 34 South

Fri, 26 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0200

1 Platters for all occasions

Made to order. Take all the stress out of entertaining with breakfast, spicy bites, Mediterranean, European, or vegetarian platters. And we even deliver!. Use our contact form to order online.

2 Oyster bar and deli

34 South – the home of the Knysna Oyster – offers coastal oysters and cultivated oysters, freshed, dressed, or cooked. Add our wonderful mezze from around the world (which can even be taken home!) and you have a win-win situation.

3 Sushi

From sashimi, and tempura rolls, to edemame, fashion sandwiches, deluxe platters. Eat them here, or take them home!

4 Restaurant

Not exactly a restaurant, not exactly a bar… definitely not a deli. Well, not exactly a deli. It’s an eating place. A drinking place. To enjoy yourself… See you there!

5 Fresh fish

Not always available, but when it is - it’s brought in through the Knysna Heads, and it’s exactly what you’d need for an extravagant seafood braai at home. Please check with our team.

6 Artisan bakery

Our baker, Xolani, bakes – no, creates – fresh bread daily, using pure, stone-ground flour from Eureka Mills.

7 Extensive wine collection

Selected by Peter Bishop, Charles van Tonder, and Keith Davis for you to indulge. Also: top choices are available by the glass for all to enjoy.

8 Gorgeous gifts

34 South literally has something for everyone. Exclusive hand-picked gifts and toys, and an immensity of imported sweets.

9 Home foods – fine foods and groceries

Prepared meals to take home, the finest groceries, and a wide selection of condiments and spices sourced locally and internationally – which is how we bring the authentic to your dish.

10 Apparel and memorabilia

Branded 34 South, Knysna, South Africa clothing and accessories. Especially designed to be worn proudly and comfortably.

10 reasons to eat at 34 South

Fri, 26 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0200

1 Breakfast – Juice bar & Deluxe coffee

Hearty and healthy! From Banting to traditional, we have the breakfast you need to start your day. Accompanied by Deluxe Coffee of course.

2 Oysters – as fresh as they come

34 South – the home of the Knysna Oyster – is renowned for our fresh, fabulous oysters. From naturally wild Knysna Oysters collected along our coast, to plump cultivated oysters brought in from other parts of the country. Au naturel, with a squeeze of lemon, dressed up, hot or cold – 34 South has the oysters your palette needs.

3 Seafood specialities

Seafood is where 34 South really shines. From mussels grown on rafts in the cold waters of Saldanha Bay to our local chokka – considered the best calamari in the world – and from our ever-popular seafood espetadas to our grilled fish and chips: our responsibly-harvested seafood is a must when you’re in Knysna.

4 Mediterranean deli and mezze

Mezze from the Med, and homemade delicacies from around the world – served with our famous rosemary and rock salt baguettes.

5 Sushi – Poke – Dim Sum

Various traditional and modern styles of sushi inspired by the cuisines of Japan and China.

6 Delicious lunches

Salads, patats, pastas, pizzas, burgers, fresh fish and seafood, and Mexican goodies for those who live it spicy!

7 Banting and vegetarian

High fat, low carb, packed with flavour – the healthy choice made famous by South African sports medico, Tim Noakes. And we've a large selection of vegetarian dishes, too.

8 Pastries – cakes – desserts

Something sweet at the end of your meal (or to serve for tea) – available to eat in or take-away.

9 Abalone, abalone, abalone!

Traditional minced abalone soup, Asian-inspired steamed whole abalone – you don’t come across these dishes every day.

10 …And for the carnivores among us

Prime cuts of beef, locally-sourced ostrich fillets, mouth-watering Kassler chops – you won’t leave hungry!

PeeBee's wine notes July 2022

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0200

Chamonix Chardonnay 2017 Reserve

The 24 months in new oak is a factor in the profile of this wine from vines planted at altitude in cool Franschhoek. The strong citrus – more grapefruit – coupled with the vanilla of the oak produces a strong wine that will handle oven red meat dishes, or pasta or risotto.

Church Swartland Chenin Blanc 2021

Grapes were sourced in the Swartland from old vines of limited yield at a good degree of ripeness that shows in the more deciduous notes – if served more at 14 degrees (not too cold!). Will do justice to shelled seafoods or a cheese dish or platter. An harmonious ending. The wine lingers.

The High Road Director’s Reserve 2017 *****

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot.

2017 was a vintage of vintages. This wine exceeds the P for Power of a blend matured in brand new oak barrels for 20 months. Sure, the structure of the oak will dominate, but it will most surely hold the flavours of the finest and fullest dishes of 34 South. Power, pleasure, perfume, and savoury.

WO Stellenbosch Great Heart 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon

In Stellenbosch, ‘Cabernet is King.’ The various clones of Cabernet give different features – grip, openness, fruit. This is more of an open feel. Some winemakers develop this ‘openness’ (accessibility) to provide a young wine that can be had with meat dishes at a tender age.

Meerlust Rubicon 2017

A fine vintage with physiological ripening of fruit and tannins, yielding – in this case – an open wine, easy to enjoy in its youth with a beef-based dish. Because of the False Bay fog, Meerlust’s grapes are well protected from the searing summer temperatures – hence the softer accessibility.

Longridge Clos de Ciel 2017 Single Vineyard Chardonnay *****

Gracefulness and charm – delicate with minerality emerging. Clean, crisp, and drying on the palette. A wine for oysters. Shows restraint rather than overplay, and this is its salient feature. From 9 clones, in decomposed granite soils.

Visit our winshop for these and other fine and rare wines.

34 South - Our Ethos

Sun, 26 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0200

Why do doctors pledge themselves to the Hippocratic Oath? Because the Hippocratic Oath is the foundation of the doctor's value system - and, by understanding their value system, they understand their profession. It's the same in business: every business needs a clear understanding of its values so that its staff can approach their mission with confidence. Together, this understanding, these values and this mission form the company's Ethos.

Ethos? You gotta be joking - who uses words like 'Ethos?’

Well, we do - because ethos means 'the distinctive spirit of a people' - and we're a team of People people.

We like people - Staff People, Supplier People, Guest People, and all the other people we meet along the way. And you like people, too. You wouldn't have wanted to become a part of our team if you didn't.

Our ethos (OK, our distinctive spirit) comes from:

The 34 South People –that would be us: The Team;
Our Guests and Customers – the guys who pay us;
Our Suppliers – the guys we pay;
Style – what we look like: the feeling you get when you come into 34 South;
Food – the best ingredients, freshly prepared;
Culture – the way we work (we work as a team and we work hard);

These are the pillars of our Ethos - as a member of our team, you're committed to them.

34 South – My eyes! My eyes! They glaze over…

Our aim is to provide our guests and customers with top-quality products (food, wine, and gifts) and first-rate service. By achieving this aim, we are recognised as a ‘leading and preferred business’ (which means that our customers choose 34 South before they choose any other restaurant, deli or gift shop - and that our competitors must follow our lead if they want to keep up with us).

Oh yes, and another thing: we're in the entertainment business. We want our guests and customers to have fun. And we want you to have fun. It's what we do and it's why we do what we do.

So: let's have a look at each of the pillars of our Ethos (and that's the last time we'll use the word “ethos” – it serves its purpose but it's really, really hard to pronounce).

The 34 South People

At 34 South we live by the laws of “substantive fairness” - which means that rules and regulations are applied fairly and equally. And here's the thing: 34 South is an African company and the concept of substantive fairness stems from the traditional concept of Ubuntu.

Ubuntu is about being human – which means caring about other people as much as we care about ourselves (in other words: we're prepared to go out of our way for one another – no matter whether the other person we go out of our way for is a guest or a member of our team).

Oh ja, and never forget this: the rules of substantive fairness – Ubuntu – also apply to the way we communicate with one another: at 34 South we talk politely to each other, we respect one another, and we accept our cultural differences.

We work hard to create a happy working environment, one that makes working here stimulating and enjoyable - and we expect you to work hard at making life pleasant, too. (Don't worry, though, because you won't need any special skills for this - just be ready with a quick smile and be considerate of your team-mates and you’ll be OK.)

Also, you'll be expected to do like we all do at 34 South – to strive to be better. Better at everything. Better in the evening than you were in the morning.

Like the rest of us, you'll be working constantly to improve yourself, and like the rest of us (and this is really, really important), you'll contribute to our success as a team and you'll recognise and acknowledge contributions made by others.

Our Guests and Customers

OK, listen up: your job is to create long-term relationships with your guests and customers. They have to enjoy themselves. Doesn't matter if they only visit us once or if they come here ten times a day – if they enjoy themselves they'll always feel good when they think of us.

You are expected to work hard and ensure that everyone has happy memories of 34 South. That way, even if we never actually see any particular guest or customer again, the relationship is preserved in his or her memory – forever.

Look at it this way. All you need to do is concentrate on making the person in front of you happy – even if he or she wants to sit for hours when there's an enormous queue of people waiting to get in the door. Happy guests and customers will tell their friends about 34 South – that's what's called 'word- of-mouth advertising' and it’s the simple secret behind every successful business. And remember, by making 34 South successful you’ll benefit everyone – yourself, me, our customers, and our suppliers.

But if anything does go wrong remember this: if anyone is unhappy about anything and wants their money back – we give it to them. No argument.

Our Suppliers

We believe in co-operating with our suppliers because we rely on their support as much as they rely on ours (imagine saying this to a guest: “sorry-for-yoooouu – you can order anything you want but I can't actually bring it to you because we were rude to the guys who sell us the raw ingredients and now we can't cook your food because none of our suppliers will supply us with supplies anymore.”) Suppliers are like customers: if we didn't have them, we wouldn't be able to work, we'd have to close down and then we'd all lose our jobs.

We're dedicated to giving our guests and customers more than what they want (in business-speak, that's called “exceeding the customers' expectations” – but let's keep it clean and jargon-free, shall we?).

Style

We're honest, generous and sometimes flamboyant and we recognise that presentation is the key to looking good. We are never limited by traditional approaches and solutions because ours is more than just a food venue, because we're entertainers, and because every visit to 34 South must end with happy memories.

Our approach to food is simple: we use the best ingredients (no compromise, because great dishes begin with great ingredients), and we make sure that everything we serve is freshly prepared – because that's what our guests deserve. And what they expect from us.

Food

If the menu says fresh fish then freshly frozen is not acceptable! Fresh garlic or fresh lemons means fresh – not preserved! Butter croissants cannot have cheaper alternatives! It is this unwavering belief that ensures success.

And here's another thing: We NEVER run out of stock. Never... Which is why we always make 110% sure that everything – food, drinks, general stock is 110% available. Even if it means standing on our heads and sobbing like babies.

Culture

Our culture is simple: it's the way we work - we work as a team and we work hard.

Tour of Knysna 2022

Thu, 26 May 2022 00:00:00 +0200

Enjoy this video about Knysna: from the Knysna Lagoon to the Knysna Heads, and from our parks and beaches to the evergreen Knysna Forests. Along the way you'll visit the shops and galleries, meet the people, and join us in our sports (golf, cycling, MTB, swimming, surfing, and more).

You'll come with us to Noetzie, Buffalo Bay, Rheenendal, and Belvidere, you'll explore our Rooted In Time Tour of the Garden Route National Park, and - and this is where we Gooi Attitude at our Latitude - you'll eat and drink with us in our favourite restaurants: in exceptional places like 34 South, the Home of the Knysna Oyster.

See you here?

Deli-Co - your trusted meat supplier

Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0200

Deli-Co is a family-owned butchery with a passion for people – a small business with a big heart. Whether they’re processing meat, dealing with customers, or negotiating with suppliers, Deli-Co Farmstyle Family Butchery always abides by Ma Susan’s words of wisdom: “Alles in liefde” - which means to “do all things in love”.

Located just outside the quaint little town of Riebeek Kasteel, Deli-Co Farmstyle Family Butchery is a trusted supplier of meat products to supermarkets, restaurants, and butcheries nationwide. The 5th generation of Truters on the farm has an innate love of quality meats, farming, and animals, and considers it their privilege to share their meat products with families like their own across South Africa.

Deli-Co Farmstyle Family Butchery owes its success to the good old-fashioned teamwork of dedicated family members and trained staff that share a passion for meat, excellence, and quality. The team believes in making ethical purchases and ensuring quality throughout the value chain to provide superior products – from their family to yours.

Deli-Co supplies 34 South with beef short ribs and oxtail, and all the lamb we use in our restaurant and sell in our retail section.

delico.co.za

34 South Home of the Knysna Oyster

Thu, 26 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0200

You could say that oysters rate amongst the foods that contributed the most to the development of the modern human brain. Certainly they feature prominently in the findings of the Mossel Bay Archaeology Project, which have shown that seafoods – and the Omega-3 fatty acids they contain – were first harvested systematically here in the Southern Cape (that is, on the 34th Parallel) 165,000 years ago.

It was those Omega-3s that made all the difference, and led directly to the development of our brains in their present form. And if man’s been eating oysters for 165,000 years – and if we’ve come this far – why stop now?

Wild Oysters – Striostrea margaritacea

The choice of the ancients, and a tasty choice indeed, the wild oysters we serve grow only on the coast between Cape Agulhas and the Transkei. They’re fleshy, flashy, and easily distinguished by their unevenly-shaped shells.

Commercial collectors are licensed and strictly controlled – although you, as an individual, may collect up to 25 a day (if you have a valid fishing permit). Or you can take the easy way out and eat them at 34 South -safe in the knowledge that we’re scrupulously careful about ensuring that our products are as tasty and attractive as they’re legal and environmentally friendly.

Cultivated Oysters – Magallana gigas

The choice of most commercial growers around the world, Pacific or cultivated oysters originated in the Sea of Japan.

They’re just as fleshy and flashy as wild oysters, but you can identify them by their even shape and the frilly, fan-like protrusions on their pretty, greenish shells.

The cultivation of oysters began in Knysna in the late ‘40s, but it wasn’t until the ‘70s that the Pacific Oyster arrived on our shores (so to speak) and farming became commercially viable.

Today they’re grown on inter-tidal racks or in cages suspended beneath the surface of the water in Saldanha Bay, Knysna, and Port Elizabeth.

Attention! Attention! The best way to eat oysters? – Freshly shucked. They're at their best within 5 to 10 minutes of being opened.

Find out more about our oysters here: Oysters @ 34

Coastal oyster harvesting – an alternative approach

An open letter to Marine & Coastal Management:

Wild oysters are presently harvested in the intertidal zone, in a somewhat indiscriminate method that permits the use of crowbars – which harms all the sea life surrounding each oyster. Also, all license holders in any given area have equal access to the resource, which often leads to overexploitation. 34 South would support a system in which license holders were allocated particular sections of the coast, and given the task of properly managing and conserving the oysters in it under pain of losing their licenses. In this way, wild oyster harvesting would become more sustainable, and sub-tidal harvesting (up to 3–5m ) would become viable – which would aid in preserving the fragile – and vital – intertidal zone.

34 South’s mystical position: Attitude at our Latitude

Thu, 26 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0200

Latitude

Your latitude is your position on an imaginary line that runs parallel to, and north or south of, the Equator.

Knysna: latitude 34o 2’ South

Longitude

Your longitude is your position on the lines that run east or west of the Greenwich Meridian.

Knysna: longitude 23o 2’ East

Ask the hippies, the mystics, the dreamers, the lovers, and they’ll tell you: there’s a special energy at the confluence of 34o South and 23o East. Something to do with ley lines and sunpaths and something they call the diamond-light grid.

We hear you. We don’t understand, either. But we do know that this spot - this particular confluence of coordinates - is truly magical in so many ways. Because it’s the place where the Knysna Forests meet the Knysna Lagoon, where the Knysna Elephant meets the Knysna Oyster, where the Knysna Mountains meet the Knysna Ocean…

You know: the spot that’s got all the things that make Attitude at our Latitude.

Putting the real Knysna Oyster on its rightful plate

Mon, 26 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0200

Knysna and oysters: they go together like the proverbial horse and carriage. You couldn’t imagine the town’s most famous party (the Knysna Oyster Festival) without them, and you couldn’t imagine a holiday by the Lagoon without at least a plate-full of them - and yet nobody farms them in Knysna any more.

So why do the locals still insist on calling their town ‘The Oyster Capital of South Africa’ - or even ‘of the World?’

According to Charles van Tonder - whose restaurants (34 South, Tapas & Oysters Knysna, Drydock, and Sirocco) have built their reputations on the luscious bivalves - we’ve been thinking about the wrong oyster all along.

“Sure, the cultivated Pacific oysters (Magallana gigas) that they used to farm here in Knysna are really tasty,” he said. “But they were never ‘from Knysna’ because they came originally from the Sea of Japan - and they don’t match our indigenous common rock oysters (Striostrea margaritacea) when it comes to texture and taste.

“It’s a bit like comparing Karoo lamb with venison. They do the same job, and both of them do it very well - but to the connoisseur, the venison is a much rarer culinary treat.”

A season past

Charles insists that it’s time for Knysna to put its history as a commercial oyster farming venue where it belongs: in the past.

“This was never a good spot for growing oysters commercially because of the prevailing conditions in the estuary: there aren’t enough nutrients in the water for them to grow to harvestable size quickly enough - as they do on the West Coast - and regular, seasonal flooding that brings fatal fresh water and silt into the Lagoon usually resulted in massive die-offs,” he said. (The floods of ’96, for example - which derailed trains and tipped whole houses into rivers - killed off more than 90% of the cultivated oysters in the Estuary.)

“The truth of the matter is that the oyster farms were set up in terms of the ideology of the time - which makes them a regrettable part of our history.

“And besides, why would you want to try cultivating one kind of oyster in an area where another kind grows naturally anyway?

“So let’s move on, forget that cultivated oysters have anything to do with Knysna - and concentrate on allowing the real treasure, our uncommonly gorgeous common rock oyster, to come into its own.”

Ancient epicures

Oysters have been an integral part of the local diet for millennia, and they’re considered to have played a vital role in the development of modern human behaviour. The common rock oyster appears prominently in the middens in Mossel Bay’s Pinnacle Point Caves (about 120 km west of Knysna), which have revealed the earliest evidence for modern human behaviour - and which were inhabited at different times over a total of 120,000 years beginning about 162,000 years ago.

According to Curtis Marean (an associate director of the Institute of Human Origins and professor at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University, and the leader of the international team that’s been studying the archaeology at Pinnacle Point since 1999): “The expansion of the diet to marine foods [around 162,000 years ago] must have had major, cascading impacts on human diet, nutrition, technology, and mobility. Omega-3 fatty acids are critical to healthy brain growth and placental development, and while marine foods are not the only source... they are the best source and their addition to the diet can have substantial fitness benefits...”

How long is a piece of string?

These days, coastal oysters are harvested commercially by a regulated number of permit holders whose bag limits are (in theory at least) strictly controlled - although no one really knows what those bag limits mean. This is significant because, unlike our ancient ancestors - who would have migrated up and down the coast as natural resources waxed and waned - we modern humans need to understand the sizes of any natural resources we want to exploit if we want to ensure their sustainability.

“As wonderful as the common rock oyster is, as apparently plentiful - most of them grow below the intertidal zone, where harvesting is not allowed,” said marine biologist Toni Tonin, an oyster farmer with twenty-five years experience, and a founder and the managing director of the Saldanha Bay Oyster Company, which farms Pacific Oysters in the place in South Africa where they grow best - in the cold, nutrient-rich waters of the West Coast.

The consequence of not knowing the size of the resource, he said, “Is that we haven’t got a clue as to what sustainable harvesting actually means.”

Both Toni and Charles argue that such a survey should be the province of Marine and Coastal Management - the national department responsible for conservation of the country’s marine resources - but, they say, they haven’t yet been able to convince the officials of the need for it.

“It wouldn’t have to be outrageously expensive,” said Toni.

“Using a combination of physical surveys and GIS-based technology, it should be possible to estimate the number of oysters, their ages, and the frequency with which they occur along the Southern Cape Coast (from Agulhas to the Bloukrans River mouth) for less than a million rand.”

Modern royalty

Still - and given that the people at Marine and Coastal Management are doing what they can with what they have - coastal oysters are available for sale to the public: in South Africa we harvest 500,000 of them a year against a total of 4.5 million cultivated oysters.

“The relationship is thus mutually beneficial: the cultivated oysters satisfy the bulk of the demand, and this reduces the pressure on the coastals,” said Charles.

Collected individually and by hand, often transported over great distances on the backs of the harvesters themselves, deeply satisfying in taste and texture, coastal oysters are, said Charles, “Actually quite rare - which is one of the two main reasons whey they’re more costly than the cultivated variety.”

And the other one?

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s because the Knysna oyster is quite simply the finest in the world.”

For more about our oysters, visit Oysters @ 34

Article author: Martin Hatchuel

Hunting oysters with 34 South

Sat, 26 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0200

Real Knysna Oysters grow in the pools and on the rocks of the Garden Route coast – and you can collect them, if you have a fishing permit.

We did, and we made a video of ourselves doing so that you can see how it’s done. And just how much fun you can have doing it.

But if you don’t want the thrill of the Indian Ocean’s refreshing water, the salt air, and the clean sands of our local beaches, well, we’re here to help you at 34 South, where we serve fresh oysters every day of the year. Our oysters are sustainably collected by licensed oyster fishers who are strictly controlled by nature conservation authorities as to the amounts of the delicious bivalves they can harvest – and the places where they can harvest them.

So that you can enjoy them with a clean conscience, and perhaps with a squeeze of lemon and a grind of pepper.

Oysters! Oysters! We want more!

For more about our oysters, visit Oysters @ 34
And if you haven’t tried them before, our 34 South Oyster Experience is a great introduction – it includes a selection of coastal oysters and cultivated oysters served with a glass of bubbly.

34 South back in the day

Mon, 26 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0200

2013: Our restaurant

Highlighting our position on the waterside of the Knysna Lagoon, our restaurant, our menu, and ous shopping experience

2014: Our sushi

A delicious look at our traditional Monday half-price sushi

2016: as shot by South Africa Travel

Oysters, mezze, seafood, sushi, bakery, gift shop, groceries, and all the attractions that together make the unique experience that is 34 South.

2019: Oysters and more

34 South – the home of the Knysna Oyster

Thirsti Water: a story millions of years in the making

Thu, 26 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0200

182 million years, more or less, beginning in the early Jurassic period, when the Drakensberg Mountains were being formed by the breakup of the supercontinent, Gondwana.

The stretching and folding of the earth’s tectonic plates caused by that breakup allowed intrusions of lava to rise to the surface, where they cooled to form the hard, weather-resistant basaltic rock that’s now the backbone of those majestic mountains.

But, of course, the Drakensberg isn’t only made of basalt: other types of rock have been laid down in the region over the eons, too - including a fossil-rich sandstone called the Normandien Formation, which occurs only in one small area centred on the Normandien Farm near the border between the Free State and KwaZulu Natal Provinces.

From this rare combination of igneous and sedimentary rocks pours a spring of South Africa’s rarest and healthiest water: the spring that produces Thirsti.

The Normandien Spring

Unlike many farms in the area, Normandien hasn’t been owned by one family for generations - so the value of the water from the spring wasn’t always known to the present owners.

But the owners aren’t the only people in the region...

One day in the early 2000s, the farm manager found a group of people from a neighbouring community filling their bowser from the spring. They told him they’d been doing this every weekend for years.

“But why?” he said. “Why travel so far from home? Surely you have a closer, more convenient supply?”

“Well, this isn’t just any water,” they replied. “It quenches your thirst like no other.”

Curious, the manager sent it for testing.

It had a pH of 8.9.

Water with a pH that high isn’t common. In fact, most of the water we consume falls in the range of 6.5 - 7.5. (In chemistry, a pH of 7 is neutral: anything lower than 7 is acid; above 7 is alkaline).

Alkaline water: best for you

While water with a low pH can be bad for you, alkaline water has numerous benefits*:

It’s a natural antioxidant that can help prevent the formation of cell-damaging free radicals in your body;
It helps neutralise harmful radicals;
It helps reduce risk factors associated with heart disease;
It helps reduce toxic overload that leads to low energy, inflammation, and food sensitivities;
It can help with weight loss; and
It reduces acid reflux, helps improve bone health, boosts your immune system, and hydrates your body.

Recognising immediately that this was a resource that would benefit both the local community and the country at large, the owners of Normandien invested in the most up-to-date bottling plant and the highest grade of staff training - thus immediately upskilling many of its neighbours - and Thirsti Water came into being.

Get Thirsty at 34

The Thirsti story is the kind of lekker story we love! It goois the right kind of attitude, it leaves the right kind of taste in the mouth - and that’s why we’re proud to stock it here at 34 South.

Thirsti Water: thirsti.co.za

* These claims are all backed up by studies from peer-reviewed journals.

Students enter Knysna destination video to ITFF Africa

Sat, 01 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0200

The organiser of the International Tourism Film Festival Africa (ITFF), Caroline Ungersbock, has welcomed a video entered by two young Knysna-based filmmakers.

Rean (24) and his brother, Chant Messina (20), filmed, produced, and edited the 2-minute, 58-second video, and also wrote and performed original music for the project, which is now live on their YouTube channel, Hermit State.

Ms. Ungersbock said she was struck by the quality of the imagery and the storytelling in the video.

“ITFF Africa is a platform for everyone who wants to show off their destinations, and these guys seem to have captured the essence of Knysna very well.

“It’s the kind of video that makes you want to visit the place - and that’s exactly what ITFF aims to achieve.

“We believe that we need to grow and nurture young talent, and the International Film Festival is a great platform for that. We wish them all the best through the jury process.”

The video was funded by a grant from 34-South Restaurant at the Knysna Waterfront.

“We took a chance,” said 34-South’s co-owner, Charles van Tonder, “and gave the boys complete creative control.

“We wanted to see how young people would interpret Knysna, and I have to say I believe that Chant and Raen have captured the two things that make this town unique: the Knysna forests, and our beaches, where there’s enormous space for everyone.”

The video is expected to garner excellent coverage for Knysna: besides a screening at Africa Travel Week (during WTM Africa in Cape Town in April), all entries from South Africa will be screened on Brics TV - which has over 400 million viewers worldwide.

Bondi of H.M.S. Verbena

Sun, 20 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0200

The English bulldog Bondi, the ship’s mascot who died during a visit to Knysna in 1931, is commemorated at two places alongside the Knysna Lagoon – at the Waterfront at the Knysna Quays, and on Thesen Island, where he lies buried.

Bondi was given as a present to the crew of the minesweeper, H.M.S. Verbena (details below), in 1928 by the people of Maputo (then Lourenço Marques), during one of the ship’s visits to the city.

The dog’s name was entered in the ship's list as a mascot, which gave him the right to draw an allowance for victuals from the Admiralty.

H.M.S. Verbena visited Knysna regularly, too. During the ship’s third visit, the crew was scheduled to give a variety concert in the Town Hall. and a work party was sent ashore during the afternoon to decorate the venue. For this task, the men marched from the wharf on Thesen Island, uphill to the hall.

It was an extremely hot afternoon and, not wanting to remain behind to stand anchor watch, Bondi followed his shipmates - but sadly collapsed and died shortly before they reached their destination.

The ship's log for Friday, 30 January 1931, records very simply:

"16:00. The ship’s pet bulldog, Bondi, died ashore of sunstroke."

Grave

Bondi was buried on the wharf just north of the old government warehouse which stood almost where the Garden Route National Park building stands today.

A wooden tombstone placed at the head of a grassy mound marked the dog’s final resting place, its brass plate inscribed, "Bondi of H.M.S. Verbena."

Thereafter, every British ship that visited Knysna would send a detail of seamen ashore to polish the brass and clip the grass on Bondi's grave. Sailors from H.M.S. Delphinium in 1932, H.M.S. Rochester in 1933, H.M.S. Milford and H.M.S. Weston in 1934, and also from H.M.S. Bridgewater, H.M.S. Penzance, H.M.S. Auckland, and H.M.S. Londonderry visited the little memorial to keep it ship-shape.

The tradition continued until the outbreak of World War II in 1939, when the wharf became a restricted area because of its proximity to Thesen’s Boatyard, which was contracted to build more than 600 vessels for the British Navy - including ten 85-ton, 112 ft (34 metre) Fairmile B class motor launches.

With no British ships visiting the port of Knysna, Bondi’s grave fell into disrepair until 1948, when the H.M.S. Nereide (and later that same year, H.M.S. Actaeon) tied up at the wharf and revived the tradition of tending the memorial.

The Nereide would visit on five further occasions, the last being in 1953, but Knysna’s links with the Royal Navy (which dated back to 1817 with the arrival - and immediate wrecking - of H.M.S. Emu) came to an end when the harbour was closed to shipping in 1954. (See Knysna Museum: Maritime Collection.)

After that, unfortunately, the original tombstone was lost.

It wasn’t the end of it, though, because, led by the members of Knysna Historical Society, the people of Knysna erected a new memorial to Bondi on Thesen’s Jetty in the early 2000s, and the South African Navy revived the tradition of tending the grave on 13th July 2001, when men from the mine hunters S.A.S. Umhloti and S.A.S. Umzimkulu polished the brass plate once more.

The tradition was then maintained by ships of the South African Navy whenever they visited for the town’s annual Knysna Oyster Festival - and more recently, by cadets of the local naval training school, T.S. Knysna.

Bondi sculpture

The people of Knysna also commemorated Bondi with a life-size sculpture created and donated by local artist, Karel du Toit.

This sculpture now stands beneath a staircase by the pedestrian bridge that crosses the canal at The Waterfront.

The little statue guards a collection box dedicated to KAWS - the Knysna Animal Welfare Society - which relies heavily on donations from the public “to protect animals, to heal their sickness, to fight cruelty, and to educate others to do the same.”

Visit KAWS on Facebook, and please give Bondi a pat on the head - and leave his living doggy relatives a generous donation - next time you visit us at 34 South.

H.M.S. Verbena

The Royal Navy’s Flower-class minesweeping sloop, H.M.S. Verbena, was built by the Blyth Shipbuilding Company in Northumberland in England. She was launched on 15 November, 1915.

Flower-class ships were built according to three different specifications: the H.M.S. Verbena was one of 36 vessels of the Arabis sub-class. The designs for these ships were drawn up in 1914.

“The design was highly appealing, as most shipyards were capable of building them, and construction could be completed in five months.

“Like the preceding Acacia and Azalea class sloops, these were single-screw Fleet Sweeping Vessels … with triple hulls at the bows to give extra protection against loss when working.” - Wikipedia

After World War I, H.M.S Verbena was assigned to the Africa Station, where she was based in Simonstown. From there, she paid regular visits to ports along the Southern African Coast.

She was sold for breaking up on 13 October, 1933.

Article author: Martin Hatchuel
Thanks to the Knysna Historical Society for additional information

The Knysna Oyster Festival: a festival by any other name

Thu, 20 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0200

The Knysna Oyster Festival was started as the Winter Festival in 1983 when the then owner of Richard’s Men’s Outfitters, the late Dick Ginsberg, got together with the manager of the Knysna Publicity Association, Rose Smith, to organise an event that would bring business into town during the quietest time of the year.

This event had a few different names while it was finding its feet – but by the mid-80s, the organisers had settled on, ‘Knysna Oyster Festival,’ and, give or take the inclusion of the names of a sponsor or two, it’s had this name for more than 30 years.

30 years is more than enough time for a brand name to become a part of what the marketing scholars call ‘the fabric of life’ of a society.

Achieving fabric-of-life status is one of the holy grails of marketing, and, thanks to millions of rands and countless hours of thousands of peoples’ time over all those years, the Knysna Oyster Festival has done just that: more than just an icon on South Africa’s annual events diary, it’s become part of the country’s fabric of life.

(For more on the issue of sponsorship, see Martin Hatchuel’s article ‘Revisiting the rules of engagement’)

Knysna Oysters

As to oysters? If you think Knysna oysters came from the Knysna Lagoon, you haven’t eaten coastal oysters – those wild, indigenous, local, lovely, luscious, superb, excellent, engaging, sweet-natured bivalves that come from the rock pools at Brenton-on-Sea or Buffalo Bay or anywhere else along the Garden Route.

You know, Knysna Oysters.

The truth is that farming oysters in the Knysna Lagoon was never profitable socially, environmentally, or financially. The idea began as a kind of affirmative-action project that provided sheltered employment for people who’d lost their jobs as the economy of the region evolved.

Pacific oysters – the oysters they cultivated here – never did like the Knysna Lagoon. Mortality rates following a typical Garden Route-style flood were often over 90%, and floods have happened in this area every few years since time immemorial.

Nor did the Lagoon like the oysters, which contributed heavily to siltation and other adverse impacts. And all the companies that were involved in cultivating oysters in Knysna were either closed for financial reasons, or moved to more suitable growing areas like the West Coast.

Through all of this, though, our indigenous oysters continued to offer us their succulent oystertude. And they’re doing it still. (See our article, ‘Putting the real Knysna Oyster on its rightful plate.’)

Oyster conservation

So if the classic coastal oyster is the REAL Knysna Oyster, does this mean we shouldn’t import cultivated oysters for the Knysna Oyster Festival?

No. On the contrary: we should celebrate and advertise the fact that we enjoy both types of oysters at the Festival, because eating cultivated oysters reduces the number of coastals we need to harvest from the wild. It’s a symbiotic relationship: since no one really knows how many coastal oysters there are in the wild, the cultivated oyster ensures the sustainability of the coastal oyster.

(See our article ‘34 South - Home of the Knysna Oyster’.)

Knysna Oyster Festival

People know when it is (roughly), they know what it is, and they know that they want to be here for it. And that’s knowledge you can’t buy overnight.

Cheers to the Knysna Oyster Festival!

Hentie’s Botel - My Avalon

Fri, 25 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0200

It was because of Hentie’s Botel that I came to live in Knysna. It was that kind of place. It had that kind of effect on you.

Maybe that was because Hentie himself, Hentie van Rooyen, was a dreamer.

It took him six years to get permission to build his 22-roomed hotel on the water. Had to get a Private Bill through two Houses of Parliament before he could begin - this was in the days when we had both a Lower House and a Senate - and everybody said he was mad. “Build a hotel on stilts? You’re crazy. Whole shebang’ll sink,” that’s what they said.

But Hentie believed differently.

So he made himself a pump from an old engine and shot a jet of water into the floor of the Lagoon to displace the sand and that way he fixed his pylons firmly in place. Then onto them he built his Botel - cost him more than 12,000 pounds when it opened in ’58 - with its bedrooms on the first floor and downstairs a dining room and a lounge and a boat-yard, Hentiecraft, where you could hire boats, some of them built by Hentie himself (and he wasn’t just a builder and a boat builder - he decorated the whole place with furniture he’d made with his own hands. Good quality stuff, too).

That was the kind of person he was: an innovator, interested in all kinds of things, someone who thought things through.

Those ball-and-claw feet on Knysna’s traditional stinkwood and yellowwood furniture? Hentie watched them making them in the factories where he’d learned his craft; laboriously, slowly cutting out those ornate wooden legs, took them hours to do. Watched and thought about it and, by the simple trick of turning the whole thing upside down, showed them how they could produce them in - listen to this - one tenth of the time.

Soon all the factories around town were using Hentie’s technique, and they’re using it still today.

And skiing. Hentie’s wife, Rita, worked at the movie house and showed him a film of someone skiing in the States. “I can make that,” he said, and set about building the slalom on which Springbok skier Deirdre Barnard (daughter of Prof. Chris) learned to ski. They were a famous pair, Hentie at the helm and Deirdre skiing behind. But Hentie and Rita were even more famous, running the Botel, he in the front, entertaining the guests, welcoming and friendly, she in the back cooking and cleaning - and both of them proud of their position as the country’s first official water ski instructors. And he built a kind-of-a winch thing with a seat that went onto the side of his boat. “Teach You To Ski In 10 Minutes,” he advertised. And he did; there’s many people who learned the sport that way.

He had a ski ramp built out in the water, too, always a great attraction during his famous Weekend Regattas, and the municipality sponsored him to become the first man to jump it - not on a ski, but in a boat. This was in 1960 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of South Africa’s Act of Union.

And of course he did it. Easily.

But he wasn’t just a daredevil: he was, like I’ve said, a dreamer, too. Together with the famous WWII flying ace, Bob Kershaw, he wanted to build a marina here in Knysna, on the Lagoon; had the plans drawn up and everything, even bought the dredging equipment. That wasn’t one of their best investments, though - the government never OK’d the idea. But you can’t help wondering what Hentie would have thought of the Knysna Quays and Thesen’s Islands as they are now.

I’m sure he’d have loved ‘em.

Hentie built his Botel on the site where Laguna Grove stands today - and it was the perfect place for water sports, so he built a long deck across the front where people could gather to watch his regattas, when he’d lay on a programme of entertainment for his guests. And for the locals, too - Hentie’s was a favourite with the locals.

But Hentie’s Botel was more than a hotel: it was the social centre of the town, and I’ve got an old clipping from SA HOTEL REVIEW, August 1961, with a picture of two women in the lounge, one of them at the piano, the other reading a magazine, her legs demurely crossed (“Guests can relax in this comfortable lounge, which has been attractively furnished and provided with model boats and ornaments”). Picture of the dining room, too (“the proprietors believe in informality for hotel guests and others. Visitors may come to meals bare foot and in shorts, if they wish. Only bikinis are banned”).

Hentie sold in ’64 - although he didn’t retire ‘til ‘86, always busy with his first loves, boat building and cabinet making, right up to the time he passed away in Somerset West on June 28, 2002.

The Botel changed hands more than once after Hentie left it, and it was burned to the scuppers on the 16th of June, 1972 (burned - but never sunk) by its last owner, Jacobus van As. Went to prison because of that; had to return the insurance payout, too.

Funny that his name was van As - “As” is the Afrikaans for “Ash.” And the Botel site? It was also the site of the old naval dockyard - which burned down twice: in 1821 and 1824. Arson. Every time.

‘64 was the year I first visited Knysna, the year I began to develop Attitude At Our Latitude. It was our one and only family holiday in the Cape and I was six. Couldn’t sleep because I was sure I’d fall off the bed and slip through the floorboards and drown in the water below.

But that was the first time I smelled the Lagoon - that fresh salt smell you get when the weather’s just so - and I knew right then that Knysna was where I wanted to live. Couldn’t have described it, but I knew straight away that Hentie’s Botel would be my Avalon.

I didn’t visit Knysna again until I came to live here in ‘83 - and by that time the Botel had passed into legend. But even just knowing that once it had been here, that once it had been real, that’s enough.

That’s what makes Knysna such a fine place to be.

Article author: Martin Hatchuel
Download a .pdf poster of this story here - and feel free to display in your shop or guesthouse.

Roll of Honour - 21 Years

Sat, 25 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0200

Louise Davids

Receiving Manager Louise Davids (Brown) has been with us for an incredible 21 years. She worked her way up, starting as a deli assistant. In her off time she watches movies or goes camping with her friends and family. Her favourite is the 34 South Calamari, but she is quite adventurous when it comes to food. She enjoys cooking at home where she experiments with different tastes and dishes.

Shannon-Lee Smith

Shannon-Lee has been with us since day 1, when we opened in 1997. She has a 22 year old daughter and loves working at 34 South "because it is busy and never boring!" Lee de-stresses on the rugby field. She is a prop for the Knysna Titans team and played for the SWD team for the last five years. No wonder she always keeps a cool head when things get busy in the restaurant!

Emily Gainsford

Emily is in charge of the deli and has been with us since 1997. She loves working with food and a good day for her is when all her customers are happy. She enjoys seafood and a fishing trip is her antidote to work stress. Her sons, now at University, are her best fishing partners and family time is for the three of them to spend some time at the water, with of course a fishing rod in the hand!

Daphney Mareqe

Daphney works in the food preparation area, which is just perfect for her as she loves cooking! Born in Willowmore, she moved to Knysna when she was 19. She has 5 kids – and the oldest two have joined her as 34 South staff members one in the deli and the other as a runner. Off time is at home, enjoying a beer with her husband. Daphney says she loves creating new dishes with new flavours, which she also tries at home as she is the only cook in the house!

Colleen Jantjies

Colleen has been part of the 34 South team for the last 20 years. She started in the deli, but now she is the chief oyster shucker, which is a very busy job here! "I still have all my fingers, but my hands are full of holes!" She used to eat oysters, but not anymore – these days she prefers fish. Off time is spending time with her family with an ice cold beer, and listening to music like Brian McKnight and Judy Boucher.

Long service

Acknowledgment of long service: those who help us maintain the unique experience called 34 South

Amos Notiki
Ace Mtshambela
Iveson Mpayipeli
Ada Swanepoel
Nozi Khibitwayo
Xolani Mtshafuto
Nazeem Grootboom
Nondili Bangisa
Debbie Langton
Glynis Mowers
Simpiwe Sokwentsa
Zakhile Ngesi

First published - August 2018