Great Brak River / Southern Cross / Tergniet - Western Cape - South Africa

Great Brak River

Great Brak River (Groot Brak Rivier) is situated on the Southern coast of the Western Cape in South Africa. Lying on the Garden Route between Mossel bay and Goerge the beautiful and unspoilt holiday town of Great Brak River offers holiday makers safe swimming conditions and true tranquility.

The rivers around Great Brak are rich in marine life making this a perfect area for the keen fisherman!

The name Great Brak River came about because of the brackish water of the brak rivers. The mouth is divided into two sandy strips of lagoon that surround a small island known as "Die Eiland".

A single lane bridge links the mainland and the island which is well known for its timber holiday homes. This charming little island has become a refuge for many seeking solitudes and has a number of holiday cottages and homes that have been in some of the families for generations!

Southern Cross

Southern Cross Beach is a fantastic beach for the whole family to enjoy and is an ideal place to take your picnic basket for an afternoon of fun in the sun. Lifeguards patrol the shores here making sure the swimmers are kept out of harm’s way.

The warm waters invite you to go get in and go swimming or surfing. There are a lot of seabirds and seals around and often you can see dolphins playing in the surf.

If you make your way down to the beach in Whale season you are very likely to see Southern Right whales basking in the shallow, warm waters. Kids will love the opportunity to see the marine life and it may be a great idea to bring along your binoculars and camera to capture the moment.

Tergniet, Garden Route

Tergniet is one of a handful of little seaside villages between Klein Brakrivier and Groot Brakrivier that function at once as suburbs of Mossel Bay and as seaside holiday towns - busy during summer, particularly over the festive season.

One can well imagine that Tergniet, in similar fashion to its neighbours, functioned historically as a beachside holiday getaway for inland farmers, and those without access to the sea.

Today Tergniet and its neighbours, Fraaiuitsig and Reebok - the other two towns between Klein and Groot Brak rivers - virtually merge into one long strip of seaside town, continuing to serve as a beachside holiday location for visitors.

Tergniet and Reebok are separated only by a small strip of green, a decidedly small coastal nature reserve that lies in the block between Blesbok and Le Roux roads. Other than the size of homes, neither village is much affected by commercialisation – the beach is endless, the rock pools provide hours of entertainment, and the tidal pool is perfect for swimming.

People head here to unwind, hang loose, walk the beaches and smell the salt air. Tergniet, like Reebok, offers an alternative to Mossel Bay, away from the big town's hustle and bustle, although you can distinctly see the lights of the bigger town across the bay from Tergniet, and it takes only 10 minutes to drive there.