Top 10 family resorts

Summer hols. You’re up soon after the sun, Mom and Dad still asleep in the rondavel. Hardly able to contain your excitement, you run down to the beach where the other kids from the resort are already gathering. Nannies are herding the littl’uns off to games on the lawn, older children have set off in canoes across the lagoon, a game of soccer has just begun on the sand. What to do? It’ll be sunset in only 11 hours and there’s so much fun to be had!

Long before I was born, the Eastern Cape cornered the market of great family-resort beach holidays. Today, it’s still the place for an affordable, care-free vacation for the whole family. That’s why the following list is so unashamedly biased in favour of the Wild Coast. Pack the station wagon, toss the kids and beach toys into the back and head for beach resort heaven in the Eastern Cape.

Wild Coast Sun, near Port Edward
Despite being a large resort on the northern Wild Coast, this is a great place for a family holiday. While adults gamble, play golf or lounge round the pool, there’s unlimited entertainment for the kids, including a games arcade, 10-pin bowling, horse riding, cinemas, tennis, squash and boating.

$$ B&B rates start from R805 a person a night sharing.

Tel 039- 305-9111, e-mail wcpro@za.suninternational.com, web www.suninternational.com.

Mbotyi River Lodge, near Port St Johns
This lodge on the coast north of Port St Johns has some fine walking trails, notably to a number of spectacular waterfalls, some of them plunging straight into the surf. The fishing is great, go bird-watching, horse riding and canoeing, or visit the site of the famous Grosvenor shipwreck.

$$ to $$$ Full-board is from R615 to R1 040 a person a night sharing.

Tel 039-253-7200, e-mail mbotyi@pondoland.co.za or web www.mbotyi.co.za.

Umngazi River Bungalows, near Port St Johns
Umngazi is an old favourite on the Wild Coast just south of Port St Johns. It offers delightful thatched rondavels set in tiers on a hill overlooking a beautiful sweep of beach and estuary. There’s an excellent spa and a host of activities planned for every day of your stay, should the pool or beach not prove too seductive.

$$ Rates start from R670 a person a night sharing (this includes all meals).

Tel 047-564-1115/6/8/9, e-mail enquiries@umngazi.co.za or visit www.umngazi.co.za.

The Haven, near Dwesa and Cwebe Nature Reserves
This is a traditional Wild Coast family resort with plenty of activities for the kids, including canoeing, tennis, a playground and a nine-hole golf course. Walks along the beach to the lighthouse and into Cwebe Forest are particularly fine. The surfing at Breezy Point is top drawer, but sharks are often active, so watch out!

$$ to $$ Full-board rates range from R345 to R535 a person a night sharing.

Cell 083-996-5343, e-mail info@havenhotel.co.za, web www.havenhotel.co.za.

Kob Inn, near Willowvale
This is a comfortable Wild Coast establishment geared towards the family having fun, with a tennis court, boating and canoeing activities on the nearby Qhorha River, mountain bikes for hire, quadbiking and table tennis. There’s a playground and play room for the kids (with child minders on hand). There’s also good food and great fishing, while the swimming pool has what must be the most spectacular location of any on this coast.

$$ Full-board rates range from R540 to R770 a person a night sharing.

Tel 047-499-0011, e-mail info@kobinn.co.za, web www.kobinn.co.za.

Mazeppa Bay Hotel, near Centane
Set in a lovely location among subtropical vegetation above a broad beach, Mazeppa Bay near Qhorha River on the Wild Coast is characterised by its own island. Depending on the tide, this is sometimes accessible only by a quaint suspension bridge, which joins the island to the main beach. The hotel caters for the whole family, especially the kids. There’s a playground with trampoline, table tennis, a tennis court and games galore (babysitting available). The fishing (river, lagoon and rock) is superb.

$$ to $$ Full-board rates range from R420 to R750 a person sharing.

Tel 047-498-0033, e-mail mazeppabayhotel@ sainet.co.za, web www.mazeppabay. co.za.

Wavecrest, near Centane
This is a fun family resort with plenty of activities, many of them waterbased (either on the estuary or the ocean). There’s boating, canoeing, sundowner cruises, whale- and dolphin-watching trips (swimming with the dolphins is a highlight). There are also a number of excellent hiking trails, a tennis court, health spa, or you can simply lounge on the pool and spabath deck and take in the sumptuous view of the beach, dunes and mangrove swamp.

$$  The full-board rate is R570 a person a night sharing.

Tel 047-498- 0022, e-mail wavecrest@pixie.co.za, web www.wavecrest.co.za.

Trennery’s, near Centane
Situated at Qholorha Mouth just north of the Great Kei River, this hotel still maintains its old-world charm and specialises in good, oldfashioned hospitality, with guests returning year after year. There are bright and airy thatched chalets comprising a master bedroom and a twin bedded room for the kids.

Children are more than adequately catered for with well-trained childminders, special meals and times, jungle gym, trampoline and an actionpacked ‘shipwreck’ centre for rainy days. Activities for the more energetic include golf, fishing, tennis, bowls, horse riding, 4×4 adventures, canoeing, boat rides, nature trails and beach walks.

$$ DB&B rates range from R535 to R675 a person a night sharing.

Tel 047-498-0004, e-mail info@trennerys.co.za, web www.trennerys.co.za.

Keurbooms Lagoon Caravan Park, Plettenberg Bay
This favourite resort, just outside Plett, has about 270 sites, of which 32 are located on the water’s edge and the others very close to the lagoon. For 11 months of the year, you can choose almost any site, but in peak season bookings are essential to secure a spot. All sites are grassed, with plug points and ablution facilities nearby.

Whether you’re using a caravan, motor home or simply a tent, all guests have easy access to the river and the sandy lagoon beach. Take a boat upstream for some water-skiing, fishing, bird-watching or sundowners. There’s a children’s playpark, tennis courts, canoe and boat hire.

$ Rates range from R80 to R140 a person.

Tel 044-533-2567, e-mail info@keurboomslagoon.co.za, web www.keurboomslagoon.co.za.

Club Mykonos, Langebaan
It’s not quite Greece, but there’s more than a passing resemblance to the Cycladic Islands in this West Coast resort 90 minutes north of Cape Town. Yes, there are whitewashed cottages, narrow cobbled lanes, a quaint harbour with shores lapped by clear, green waters. Dine on Greek dishes at Bazouki Restaurant or get active with a host of outdoor options from squash or tennis to a gym and various swimming pools. For the water sport enthusiast, Langebaan Lagoon offers ideal conditions for sailing, windsurfing or kitesurfing.

$ There are a number of options; rates start from R345 a person a night sharing.

Tel 022-707-7000, e-mail reservations@clubmykonos.co.za, web www.clubmykonos.co.za.