The Knysna Lagoon is a large body of water with the town of Kynsna on the eastern part of the northern shore. It is almost 7 square miles in area and home to at least 200 species of fish. The Knysna River and six other sources of fresh water flow into the lagoon. There is a very narrow opening to the Indian Ocean through two large headlands known by the clever name of “The Heads.” This results in the typical estuarial lagoon with ocean water — which comes in through The Heads with tidal action — mixed with the fresh water from the rivers. The Heads are infamous — at least in the Kysna area — for the loss of boats that attempt to pass through them.
We, however, are not going to The Heads, or at least not through them. Instead we are going across the lagoon, starting near where the Knysna Log Inn is located (see map in previous post) heading nearly due south past the two large islands in the lagoon, and landing on the westerly of the two headlands at the Featherbed Nature Reserve. But note that we stay on the lagoon side of The Heads not entering the tricky waters between them or the ocean on the other sides. We’ll see that water, though, from the reserve. There are three boats operated by the Featherbed Nature Reserve to ferry visitors from the Knysna side of the lagoon to the Featherbed property on the other side of the lagoon right at the head.
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| Three Boats |
We are part of a quite small group going over today (remember it is winter—not prime tourist season) and so we’re going on the small boat with the blue canopy at the far end of this pier.
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| Boarding Boat |
The lagoon is shallow, and the surrounding land is not very elevated as you can see from this view looking out from the boat to the opening between The Heads in the bottom middle of the picture.
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| Across the Lagoon |
The land behind us as we’re leaving Knysna slopes gently upward.
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| Sloping Land |
The houses on the islands are built quite close up to the lagoon with very little protection from any water action.
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| Houses on Shore |
But then there is little tidal wave action, at least on this side of The Heads. When we go ashore at Featherbed and hike the shore we’ll see some quite dramatic action on the Indian Ocean side of the headlands and in water coming through the narrow passage between The Heads.
The smoothness of the water, resulting in part from the shallowness of the lagoon, is shown by the small amount of wake caused by our boat.
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| Smoothness of Lagoon |
The African Spoonbills, shown in the following photo, fish in the shallow water of the lagoon feeding on such animals as fish, mollusks, amphibians, crustaceans, insect and larvae.
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| Spoonbills |
People also fish in the lagoon and the shallowness of the water allows wading into the lagoon.
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| Fishers |
Note the bridge between two islands in the middle ground of the photograph.
Ahead of us lies the opening between The Heads. It is a twisting passage and from this angle it looks like there is a small piece of land across the passage.
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| Nearing The Heads |
Instead you would have to go to the right and then curve back to the left to get through the passage to the Indian Ocean. From the following view of The Heads, now a little closer, you can just make out where the passage probably is, just to the left of the rightmost headland.
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| A Little Closer to The Heads |
I’m glad we’re not going through what even Wikipedia calls “treacherous and unpredictable waters.” I can only imagine what it must have been like with a sailboat. Instead we’re heading for a landing in the still calm waters of the lagoon, just a little bit off the right edge of the water — Featherbed Nature Reserve. But it’s much more exciting than just a place for sweet dreams.
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