Cannon Rocks is a small

seaside town A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the German ' ...

on the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

in the

Eastern Cape Province The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in 199 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, between Boknes and the boundary of the Greater Addo Elephant Park. It is situated 135 km east of Port Elizabeth and 180 km west of East London approximately 15 minutes from the town of

Kenton-on-Sea Kenton-on-Sea, more commonly known as Kenton, is a small coastal town on the Sunshine Coast, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. It is situated between the Bushmans and the Kariega Rivers, and lies approximately halfway between the industria ...

Port Alfred A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

is approximately 40 km to the East of Cannon Rocks via the R72 Road. Cannon Rocks is part of the

Ndlambe Local Municipality Ndlambe Local Municipality is an administrative area in the Sarah Baartman District of the Eastern Cape in South Africa, with its capital at Port Alfred. It is a predominantly rural area with agriculture and tourism dominating the economy. It ...

in the Sarah Baartman District of the Eastern Cape. The town is named after two cannons of historical importance and is close to the Diaz cross, erected five centuries ago by Bartholomeu Diaz, the first Portuguese ocean explorer to sail along the eastern coast of South Africa. Cannon Rocks is a major marker for weather forecasts for the coastal belt. It divides two coastal sections:

Plettenberg Bay Plettenberg Bay, nicknamed Plet or Plett, is the primary town of the Bitou Local Municipality in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. As of the census of 2001, there were 29,149 population. It was originally named Bahia Formosa ("beautifu ...

to Cannon Rocks; and Cannon Rocks to

Kei Mouth Kei Mouth (Afrikaans: ''Keimond'') is a resort town on the southeast coast of South Africa, situated in the Wild Coast region of the Eastern Cape Province, situated 94 kilometres from the city of East London. The town is situated on the Indian ...

Information

The Cannon Rocks community elects volunteers who look after the interests of the village by means of various portfolios: Chairman, Finance/ Advertising, Public Relations, Fire Prevention/fighting, Community Affairs, Environment, Maintenance, and Infrastructure. The publish Newsletters and Minutes of meetings on the cannon rocks Website.

Cannons & Anchors

The South African coast – especially the Cape coast – is notorious for its stormy weather, making it one of the most treacherous in the world. A combination of strong winds, unpredictable currents, freak waves and hidden shoals or reefs come together to give our coastline its hazardous reputation. In early times, the rudimentary barometers used on ships were able to give a short term weather forecast. However, there was no long-term nor predictable means of weather forecasting which meant the voyagers did not know what weather systems they were sailing in to, nor what systems were coming up behind them. See article History of the Cannons & Anchors

Geology

There are outcrops in the sea close to Cannon Rocks of a coastal marine formation, the Salnova Formation. This formation occurs about 20 metres above sea level and comprises calcrete with

quartzitic Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

boulders and shell material.

Activities

Cannon Rocks is a great kitesurfing location. The town used to host the yearly Cannon Rocks Kiteboarding Classic competition. Since dune movement encroaching on the car parking area, it has been suspended. The major attraction is the unspoilt and uncrowded nature of the beaches, coupled to a stable and predictable south westerly and easterly wind which are both cross shore. These conditions are also enjoyed by

windsurfers Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

. The town is a premier rock and surf

angling Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook or "angle" (from Old English ''angol'') attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techni ...

destination. There is a charter company (Big Blue) in town that takes visitors on deep sea angling,

snorkeling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters ...

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...

excursions. The community hall is available for rental for local functions and gettogethers. Th
nature trail
is very popular. We are very privileged to be on the border of the SANPARKS Woody Cape/ Addo National Park. The trail, leaving from The Cannons carpark, is approx. 7 km – a 2 – 3 hour circular walk through a variety of habitats, including the beach. There is a two-hour drive that takes visitors through the Golden Mile dairy farms on the spectacular cliffs overlooking Bird Island and the world's biggest coastal

dune field A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

. The road turns into the state forest where century old trees form a dense canopy over the road. The road ends in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

, where it branches back over the mountain to Cannon Rocks. Two hiking trails begin in Cannon Rocks. The first (7 km) starts right at the western end of town at the Cannons and winds through the bush to a look-out over the coastal dunefield. It then goes back on the beach. It is advisable to wear a sun-hat and take water. The second trail is a two-day trail that can be booked through the Addo Elephant Park offices.

Economy

Cannon Rocks is close to an area called "The Golden Mile" of dairy farming. It is a strip of land between the sea and the Woody Cape forest that is very well suited to dairy farming. This historically drove the development of the area. Recent price collusion between major milk-buying companies Clover, Parmalat and Woodlands have left the once prosperous farmers facing bleak futures, with herds reduced and many farmers opting for beef cattle. The economy of Cannon Rocks is primarily retirement housing, holiday houses and weekend visitors. The beaches are immaculately clean and safe due to the very low number of visitors and the fact that there is approximately 100 km of untouched bush and beaches to the west. Since the pandemic started in 2020 there has been an influx of early retirement and laptop class workers who are able to work remotely and fulfill their work duties online. These include engineers, information technology, and entrepreneurs equipped with computer and internet connection. Cannon Rocks does not have a retail outlet and residents and visitors buy basic commodities in Boknesstrand or

. Basically the only commercial activity is the Post Office Agency and convenience shop for essential snacks and food items. Kenton-on-Sea also provides several banks and associated commercial activities. One local established restaurant and bar called Roes caters for daily meals and get togethers. The local resident artisan baker specializing in

Ciabatta Ciabatta (, ; literally " slipper") is an Italian white bread made from wheat flour, water, salt, yeast and olive oil, created in 1982 by a baker in Adria, province of Rovigo, Veneto, Italy, in response to the popularity of French baguettes. Cia ...

Ciabatta
Artisan Bread provides fresh artisan bread weekly to locals and the surrounding area.

References

External links

Cannon Rocks Website

Cannon Rocks Ratepayers Page

Cannon Rocks Website

History of Cannons and Anchors

Local Ciabatta Bread - Artisan Bakery
{{Eastern Cape_province Populated places in the Ndlambe Local Municipality Populated coastal places in South Africa