“The overall goal of Integrated Coastal Management is to improve the quality of life of human communities who d
epend on coastal resources while maintaining the biological diversity and productivity of coastal ecosystems. . . . It is a process that unites government and the community, science and management, sectoral and public interests in preparing and implementing an integrated plan for the protection and development of coastal ecosystems and resources.” (Report on fundamental goals of coastal management via deliberations of the Group of Experts of Marine Protection 1996)
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y
The national vision sets out the desired future for South Africa’s coast and the people using this valuable resource as follows:
“We, the people of South Africa, celebrate the diversity, beauty and richness of our coast and seek an equitable balance of opportunities and benefits throughout it. We strive for sustainable coastal development involving a balance between material prosperity, social development, cultural values, spiritual fulfilment and ecological integrity, in the interests of all South Africans. We strive for a time when all South Africans recognise that the coast is ours to enjoy in a spirit of community. We look forward to a time when all South Africans assume shared responsibility for maintaining the health, diversity and productivity of coastal ecosystems in a spirit of stewardship and caring.
We seek to guide the management of our coast in a way that benefits current and future generations, and honours our obligations and undertakings from local to global levels”.
How will this affect a small coastal community like Noetzie? The new legislation will protect public access routes to the beach and entrenches the rights of all South Africans to enjoy the coastline for recreation and other purposes and also protects the environment. If you would like to read more and to study the legislation, please click on this link: National Coastal Management Programme.
The turn off to Noetzie is just a few Kilometers from Knysna, on the eastern side, opposite the turn off to Uniondale. Follow the dirt road towards the sea, until you get to the public parking area at the end of the road. The road can be quite bumpy in places, depending on how recently it was graded, or if it has recently had heavy rainfall erode it. So drive slowly and carefully. After parking, be sure to lock your car, and do not leave any valuables in sight. There is usually a self-employed car guard on duty.
Please do not drive down the old wagon road, because there is no parking available for the public and very little turning space- especially since the river mouth has washed away permit holders 4×4 access via road which ends abruptly in the air.
Follow signs to steps to the beach, or you can walk down the Old Wagon Road which is on the far left of parking area. There are public toilets at bottom of the Old Wagon Road- water supplying the toilets is from the lagoon and is not potable, so bring your own refreshments- but take all your litter home with you, please- or dispose of responsibly in primate proof rubbish bins.
Looking through the old family album collections, my husband and I discovered that both our grandfathers had once been in love with the same girl. The details are sketchy but when the same graceful beauty appeared, so often, in both our grandfathers’ bachelor albums, we started to look for, and find more clues.
Herbie North’s album
What we have found out is that her name was Una le F…., maybe le Fleur, her sister, or friend, was Peggy. These photos were taken in 1926, a weekend party to the coast from Oudtshoorn, via Kruisfontein, Prince Albert. Apparently there was a le Fleur family living in Knysna?
Herbie North’s album – Is that Una standing behind the car?
John W. Newdigate album – Here she is again, in the reeds at Noetzie. Is that Herbie on the left? Yes, I think so.
Una & Peggy laughing on the steps at North Cottage, from Herbie North’s album
She never married either of them but the wives they eventually married (our grandmothers) may have ripped photos out of their husband’s bachelor albums at some point – it really looks like photos have been removed deliberately.
Una was chaperoned at all times by her parents, the man who we now assume is her father, we once were convinced was George Bernard Shaw (he did visit Noetzie- but a few years later). You can see Una’s parents and siblings (?) in the watermelon feast pictures, as well as others. I don’t think the chaperones went on the picnics upriver though, that might have been too adventurous.
John W. Newdigate album – picnic with Una at Noetzie River
John followed her or accompanied her on a trip to Europe, or did she post this to him, after her visit to Noetzie?
John W. Newdigate album – sailing on the Knysna Estuary (Una on right)
So, that is all we have really- there are a few more I might add but I am still relying on too much imagination when I look at these lovely faded photographs. I wish they could tell us a bit more! Bruce and I did not know that our grandfathers knew each other that well but it certainly seems that they did. Maybe Herbie was in love with the sister Peggy and Una is behind the lens? Who knows? 5 years later, Herbie called his new baby daughter Peggy. Is that a small clue? Ah, no that is my imagination at it again:)
Herbie’s album, ‘cooling off in the lagoon’
Herbie’s album: Sand witches? Hmm, under her spell perhaps?
Below, Herbie on right with his arm on Una’s knee. John is to the left in dark pants looking very glum. Mysterious GBS look-alike next to him – probably the father keeping an eye on his daughters?
Can you provide any info. I’d love to fill in the gaps!
The old Noetzie castles before demolition and renovation.
I’ve noticed that the words used in the title of this blog post are the most popular search terms bringing traffic to this website. I think people are fascinated by castles because castles take them back to their childhood, fairy tales and stories of pirates and hidden treasures.
I do not want to disappoint you but there are no old buried treasure tales to spice up Noetzie’s history- the more interesting parts of the castles’ history seemed to have happened in the last decade (access battles, protest marches, ancient skeletons and a few other present day issues I don’t want to mention here).
Some of the oldest castles at Noetzie have been demolished and re-built, to bring them into the ‘top dollar’ luxury property market bracket. The last remaining old castle is called Pezula Castle and was built about 75 years ago, and was the inspiration for the name of the neighbouring estate, perhaps? After all, we heard a rumour that the developer arrived at Noetzie by helicopter, landing on the beach in front of the old Pezula Castle. ‘Pezula’ is Zulu word meaning ” up high” or “in the heavens”. This particular castle remains empty and abandoned, not really safe for occupation. I wonder if the castle will eventually be fixed up too, or will it be allowed to slowly go to ruin? As it is over 60 years old it does have heritage status. My husband and a few others who have been there at night, say it is haunted. He used to hang out there with his friends when they were teenagers and the stories about the ghosts pushing them down the stone steps seem to have been exaggerated with each re-telling. So I am not convinced they are true, but nor would I even dream of going there on a stormy, moonless night.
We have watched ordinary people in all shapes and sizes make the trek down the stairs from the car park, wanting to see the castles with their very own eyes. They walk on to the beach in front of the castles, turn around, point and pose for photographs, and immediately leave the beach- back up the 116 steps and a very steep track. That is a real pilgrimage of love for knobbly stone buildings, with not much history to speak of. We never can believe that the castle fans do not walk on the beach, or cool their sweaty toes in the river mouth or just stop to properly enjoy the breathtaking beautiful Nature at Noetzie. The statistics for this website seem to reflect a similar fascination for the Noetzie castles.
Here are some castle photographs for the fans of Noetzie castles. There are more pictures, stories and information about the castles on the History and Gallery pages of this website. Of the six castles at Noetzie, which is your favourite? I think the smaller Perekuil Castle is the nicest one. Tucked around the corner on the far Western end of the beach with it’s own little beach and gulley.
There are plans for another new large castle on the western end of the beach . Maybe that will force the castle fans to explore a bigger area and enjoy the beach more?
The envisaged Discovery Park on our doorstep will be a first in the world, putting both Knysna and South Africa on the map. Biomimicry attempts to follow the design principles of nature. The emphasis is not “green”, but to find solutions to problems. For example – more streamlining in jets. That it looks to nature, where there is no destruction in construction, and development takes place with a symbiotic relation to the surrounding environment, the solutions would more than likely be environmentally supportive.
This project is the brainchild of SUSAN SWAIN. She was our guest at the NCOA’s 2013 AGM.
Sue Swain has had an interest in Biomimicry since 2004 and attended the Biomimicry in Design Workshop with Janine Benyus in September 2009. Motivated by the belief that biomimicry is something that can be applied in all areas of our lives, Sue has been working on a model for the Garden Route town of Knysna based on the principles, strategies and processes of a natural system.
These principles have been distilled into a model to help Knysna “function like a forest”. The model can be used to guide how we run our businesses, live our lives, plan and run the town, and solve any number of problems from design challenges to tourism-related issues. Sue has also just received funding from the National Lotteries Board, from a funding proposal submitted in 2005, to coordinate the research and design of and fund-raise for the establishment for a Biomimicry Discovery Park. This will essentially be a public education facility and eco-tourism attraction rolled into one very interactive, fun and engaging park designed to immerse people in the fascinating world of nature and reveal how we can draw lessons from all we see around us.
Before we headed out to the site where we spent the afternoon, we were treated to a talk by CLAIRE JANISCH.
Claire, a chemical engineer, is a sustainability & innovation advisor and biomimicry professional. She is a graduate of and a co-trainer for the international 2-year biomimicry Professionals Program. She currently heads up biomimicrySA. Claire works in the areas of strategy, technology & education and is the leading presenter, trainer and consultant for biomimicry in South Africa. She is also a co-creator of the Genius Lab, an experiential learning organisation inspiring innovation and future thinking for organisations and individuals (children and adults). She finds inspiration and innovative solutions to human challenges by emulating organisms and ecosystems that fit in on this beautiful planet in well-adapted life-enhancing ways. As a biomimicry professional she spends her time exploring nature’s technological miracles in diverse ecosystems and shares this new way of viewing and valuing nature through expeditions and workshops – teaching & training professionals, students and scholars. She also dives deeper into research for companies and organisations- translating nature’s innovation and sustainability principles for the design of new products, processes & systems. Claire has a MSc in the field of Environmental Process Engineering and has worked across Africa as a consultant in: Environmental Technology, Sustainable Energy & Climate Change, Cleaner Production, Sustainable Urban Design, Integrated Waste Management, Sustainable Agricultural Practices, Eco-labelling, Environmental Management & Environmental Education. Claire was selected in the Mail & Guardian’s 200 young South Africans in 2010 and 2011. She was a finalist in the Most Influential Women in Business & Government awards in 2012.
On site we were given a field talk by local Field Guide expert Mark Dixon who gave us some background to the site in terms of geology, weather patterns, flora and micro organisms and did you know that only 30 percent of the organisms we call our body is made up of us ..? The rest is made up of microbes, bacteria and other parasites we host. A glass or two of wine a day, I say ! And that the ratio of human to insects is 1: hundreds of millions ?
The architect who is very keen on this project and as far as I can make out, will be the architect, is Mick Pearce. He is a designer of living buildings, the Eastgate Centre in Harare being the most famous. What a lovely man and being with him was awesome.
John Todd who wrote a book called LIVING MACHINES will be the next guest to the project in October. He is a world expert on water.
The other outstanding giant mentioned is Wes Jackson, a Texan who wrote about farming the Prairies using bio biomimetic principles. His book is considered a bible of green agricultural practice CONSULTING THE GENIUS OF THE PLACE.
Here is some dinner table info to keep your guests in gusts of interest :
A Tardigrade is a microscopic organism which can be boiled, frozen or dehydrated for 120 years. Undo it and it gets up and walks away. They have used that concept of myothelial sugar coating to successively transport vaccines, thereby reducing fridge costs and accidental loss of stock through breaks in the cold chain
They have made a polymer called SHRILK, which is a fabric with silk properties – stronger than anything man has made in the past.
Biomimicry is an attempt to solve problems by asking different questions. Look to the problem..ask the question..locate the verb and ask what nature does with that verb. We workshopped that in groups with Claire it was very interesting.
We usually think of recycling as “cradle to grave” or down-cycling , and yet nature recycles in the “cradle to cradle” or re cycling style.
Mick Pearce explains Architecture as the “third skin”. Our skin is first, our clothes are second and our shelters are the third.
Early architecture was based on fire…and now our “fire” comes from a plug in the wall. The invisible nature of our fire from the principle of energy is seen to be problematic in the way that much modernity is… we are removed from the essence. For example, the humble plastic water bottle has nearly as much equity value, in terms of mined carbon,…as…you can hardly believe it…DIAMONDS !!!
The idea for developers is to use the tree as the example. The tree is a complete living organism which re cycles. Further, it is decentralised – each leaf is self sufficient. The idea would be to have buildings which are modular and each mode being self sufficient in terms of energy, water and waste. This would take away the clumsiness of centralised processing.
Chris Everett’s book, “Noetzie – An Illustrated History”, was launched in December 2012 and was very well received by the Noetzie community. The history covers a wide range of geological, geographic and environmental aspects, archaeology, the history of Noetzie’s establishment and development, politics and details of all the erven and the families who have owned them. In addition personal recollections and stories as well as a range of artwork by Noetzie’s people are included, together with a wide selection of historic and picturesque photos.
An illustrated History by Chris Everett
Many people were surprised by the quality and degree of detail and the comment that it considerably exceeded their expectations was made by several. Owners particularly enjoyed the “scoop” of the previously unpublished archaeological digs and the details recorded about the mystery Doctor and his shack up the river. Anita Fabians’ lovely sketches dotted around the book were also greatly appreciated.
The NCOA Committee decided to award the Conservancy Award for 2012 to Chris for his efforts in recording Noetzie’s history and this was done at the AGM.
All available copies were snapped up fast but a copy can be found in the Knysna Library, thanks to the well known Knysna historian Margaret Parkes.
