The Island House Church. A fellowship group meets regularly at
143 Links Dm e. Service every Sunday at yam, and Bible Study
on Thursdays at 6pm. Visitors are most welcome.
Contact-Sue Malcomess (3840126)
Places of worship for many denominations are present in
Knysna. Details are provided in the local press on Thursdays.
Cearn Hall, in Hall Road, is a community hall and facility built in 1955 in memory of
the initial developer of Leisure Isle, George Cearn, and his wife Ethel. It belongs to
the Knysna Municipality, but is leased to the Leisure Isle Country Club on a fifty-
year lease.
The building houses the Leisure Isle Library. The large hall is used for meetings,
lectures, workshops, fêtes, dances, recitals, functions and various community
activities, and serves as the local polling station during elections. Various sports and
pastimes take place in Cearn Hall, including Scottish country dancing, yoga and
table tennis. A ten-seater Committee room is available.
Cearn Hall is available for hire. Contact John Wingrave (384- 0373) for booking
details.
When the Island was laid out a commercial precinct was designated, and certain of
the properties surrounding Kingsway Park have business rights.
Over the years various enterprises were established there including a garage, shop
and tea-garden. These have disappeared, and currently the precinct is home to
Sothebys, Tides Restaurant, a firm of architects and an art gallery.
ART CALLERY
The gallery has a long history on the Island. It was
initially known as the Wiles Gallery, and was
established in 1952 by Brian Wiles to display the work
Most of the central business district has
become a wireless zone, which means you may connect
to the internet via your laptop without needing a
telephone connection. Other wireless hotspots are:
Woodmill Lane, Simola, Belvidere Manor, Knysna
Waterfront, Tapas Restaurant (White Bridge),
Brenton-on-Sea, Knysna High School, Coffee
Connection, Total garage and a host of private
accommodation establishments.
London cabs • Don't be astounded when you come across a
London cab in Knysna. SA Cabs is
operating three of these distinctive
taxis 24/7. Which is good news for
revellers. Now you may jol a little
harder without having to worry
about nasty breathalyzer tests or,
eish!, the prospect of forfeiting your
car to the state. 086 117 2222.
Mitchell's Gold • Knysna's second gold rush
has just begun. Mitchell’s Brewery (based in
Knysna since 1983) has launched Mitchell's Gold,
a light Pilsner that you could quaff heartily
because of its low (3.6%) alcohol content as the
summer temperatures soar. Available from the
brewery and all loading bottle stores and
restauranrs, it's one more reason to drink a toast
to Knysna! 0443824685.
Firefly • The mother-daughter duo of Dell
and Sanchia Hadlow pride themselves on
being "spice alchemists". Judged by the
restaurant's national Top 10 ranking in the
'everyday eating' category, the critics tend to
agree. Firefly is famous for its Cape Malay-
inspired bobotie spring rolls with chutney
which reflects their passion
for all things fragrant.
Open Tue-Sun,
18h30 to 22h00.
0443821490.
Each year-end LIRA, in partnership with the Knysna Municipality, SA Police,
SANParks and Holistic Security, formulates a plan to ensure that day visitors to
Green Hole and elsewhere can enjoy a safe and pleasant outing. Traffic and parking
in particular are given attention, and measures are put in place to ensure adequate
ongoing cleaning of facilities and collection of litter.
A security tower is erected at Green Hole and staffed at all times, and a full-time
beach warden provides an additional safety measure.
Residents and visitors are advised beforehand of specific arrangements and
measures to be put in place.
Leisure Isle is an ideal environment for dogs and dog-walking, and the dogs of many
Islanders and other Kntyna residents enjoy their daily outings in all weathers, and in
matchless surroundings.
Because of the number of dogs living on and visiting the Island, certain well-trodden
routes, especially along the seawall, the beaches and the various parks become quite
polluted with dog litter, (besides being unhygienic, especially on the beaches, dog
litter certainly diminishes the pleasure of others out to enjoy the passing scene.
The Knysna Municipality has placed notices at certain strategic points on the Island,
urging dog owners to act responsibly and to carry plastic bags to collect litter left by
their dogs.
Please do your bit to keep this Island clean and lovely, for all to enjoy.
A reminder that the SANParks take a strong view on dogs chasing birds on the salt
marshes, especially during breeding season. While most dogs respond quickly to
their owner's call, SANParks suggest that unruly dogs should be kept on leashes.
Domestic waste and recycling is collected from Leisure Isle on Thursday mornings,
from 08H00.
The bags can be placed on the pavement early on Thursday morning.
Black bags are for domestic waste. Packs of 25 are distributed to households twice a
year by the Municipality, free of charge. Additional black bags can be purchased
from the Municipal offices or from supermarkets.
Green Bags are for recycling, and are collected with domestic waste on Thursdays.
Paper. Cardboard, glass and plastic may be recycled, using the same green bag for all.
The bags may be obtained free of charge from the Municipal Health Department
offices in Queen Street.
Blue bags are for garden refuse, and two per week may be placed out for collection
on Thursdays. They may be purchased at the Municipal Treasury offices in Queen
Street.
Skips hire available over the Christmas holiday period at the Green Hole, Bayswater
Park and Links Drive (near the Security hut) for domestic waste in black bags.
Visitors are asked to use these when vacating their homes on the Island, to reduce the
mess caused when dogs and seagulls pull unattended bags to pieces.
During the rest of the year the Links Drive skip is always available.
Knysna is a 'Fireworks-free zone'. In terms of a regulation promulgated in 2004 by
the Knysna Municipality, the use of all forms of fireworks is prohibited in all public
places, streets and beaches. The ban is backed by stiff penalties of a fine of R600 or
12 months imprisonment.
Permission may be granted on an ad hoc basis for fireworks displays, provided very
stringent regulations are adhered to.
Fishing is a favourite Island pastime. Fish can be caught at various places along the
sea wall on both sides of the Island at or around spring high tide. Tide tables are
available at sports and boating outlets in Knysna and at the Leisure Isle Boat Club.
Anglers fishing from boats have more opportunities. Fish can be caught in the
shallow water on the banks where they come to feed at high tide, and in or near the
channels at low tide. When fishing at low tide be careful not to anchor in the channel
where you will obstruct passing boats.
Spotted Grunter and White Steenbras are the most common fish in the lagoon. These
can be caught using sand or mud prawns collected on the mudflats at low tide, in
areas outside the Invertebrate Reserve. Garrick (Leervis) provide good sport and are
caught with live Mullet. Cape Stumpnose are good fun, especially for children, and
are caught on most baits.
All fishermen should obtain copies of the SANParks' brochure Salt water fishing inthe Knysna area. It contains a species list for recreational anglers, a list of some of
the 200 species present in the Knysna estuary, as well as bag limits, information on
bait and bag limits for bait.
A maximum of 2 lines may be used, with 2 hooks on each line, and the lines should be attended at all times. All anglers must be in possession of valid fishing licences and bait-collecting licences, which are obtainable from any Post Office. (The Knysna
Post Office is on the comer of Main and Montague Streets).
Bait collecting in the Invertebrate Reserve is prohibited, even by those in
Possession of a Bait licence.
A project is underway to identify, list and photograph all
plant species occurring in Steenbok Nature Park and
Kingfisher Creek. At present 125 species have been
identified and photographed, and it is anticipated that the
number of listed species will double.
Gardening at Leisure is a small garden club
consisting of about 70 members, who meet
on the first Friday of every month at
different venues, mainly on the Island
Places of interest off the Isle are also
visited, and here we try to limit the number
of cars and travel in as few as possible. No
meeting is held in July. Anyone may
become a member for a mere R5 per year,
and there is no waiting list. Visitors are
welcome, and pay R7 per meeting.
Members are asked to be a tea hostess not
more than once a year, which entails
supplying two plates of eats for a meeting
and making and pouring tea. Members and
visitors are asked to bring their own cup and
chair to the meetings. A fee of R5 is charged
for each tea.
Newsletters are emailed once a month to
members. Birthday vouchers are given monthly to two lucky members and a raffle is held at each meeting. We have a Sales Table where people bring surplus plants for sale, which boosts our funds. All surplus funds from Club activities are ploughed into Steenbok Nature Park.
Once a year we ask people with lovely gardens to join in Open Gardens of Knysna,
and encourage people to open their gardens for charity. Open Gardens is held on the
same weekend in spring as Art & Craft on the Isle.
We are responsible for the maintenance of the Entrance Garden on the Isle, and from
time to time have work parties who come and help to keep it looking good.
Apart from the 2 blue bags of garden refuse which can be put out with domestic waste for collection each Thursday, there are no provisions for the dumping of garden refuse or rubble on the Island.
The Municipal garden refuse dump is situated on a hill about 3km east of Old Place
(smoke can often be seen rising from this site). The road is signposted from the N2.
Caution should be exercised as the last 4 kilometres is badly gravelled and the road is
not very passable in wet weather.
There are a number of garden services and private individuals who will remove
garden waste to the Municipal tip for a fee (see Free Ads and Action Ads for details)
The Municipal dump for building rubble is up the hill from Grey Street.
