Sedgefield

Sedgefield is a small Garden Route town wrapped around the Swartvlei estuary, with Goukamma Nature Reserve on one side, Wilderness National Park on the other and about 15 km of beach in front. In 2010 it became the first town in Africa to join Cittaslow, the Italian slow town movement, and the label fits. People come to paddle the lagoon, walk the beaches, eat their way round the Saturday markets and watch paragliders drift off the dunes.

Getting there

Sedgefield is on the N2 between George and Knysna. For flying in, George has regular domestic flights. The Baz Bus covers the Garden Route. As in the rest of the region, a car makes the beaches and lakes much easier to reach.

When to go

The Garden Route gets around 700 mm of rain a year, with summer highs near 25°C and winter lows around 7°C at sea level. Southern right whales are often seen off Gericke’s Point in September and October. Come for a Saturday if you can, since that is market day.

What to do

Saturday morning is the main event. Wild Oats Community Farmers’ Market sets up beside Swartvlei on the edge of town from early morning. Go hungry: there is breakfast cooked over coals, and you can fill a bag with vegetables, free-range meat, artisan bread, cheese and plants. People drive over from Knysna and George to stock up. Two more Saturday markets run in town.

The beaches each have a character. Myoli suits water sports, Cola Beach is quieter and you get there along a long boardwalk, and Swartvlei Beach draws surfers, anglers and horse riders. At Gericke’s Point, low spring tides uncover rock pools, and the rock known as the Sphinx stands guard. The Swartvlei mouth is not always open to the sea; when it is closed, the swimming is safest.

Paragliders launch from Cloud 9, a high dune covered in bush that pilots rate among the Garden Route’s top spots, and you can book a tandem flight. On the Goukamma side of town lies another lake, Groenvlei. Around town there are some 66 mosaic artworks to spot, a coffee roastery in Mosaic Village and a craft brewery.

Good to know

The town was proclaimed in 1929 on a farm whose name came from a village in England. It is run as part of Knysna municipality, and the area falls within the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve, recognised by UNESCO in 2018.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, Discover Sedgefield, LekkeSlaap, SA-Venues (Wild Oats market), Wikivoyage (Garden Route).