{{Infobox settlement | name = Coffee Bay | native_name = Koffiebaai | image_skyline = Coffee Bay.jpg | image_caption = Coffee Bay | pushpin_map = South Africa Eastern Cape#South Africa#Africa | coordinates = {{coord|31|59|10|S|29|08|50|E|region:ZA|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = [[Country]] | subdivision_name = [[South Africa]] | subdivision_type1 = [[Provinces of South Africa|Province]] | subdivision_name1 = [[Eastern Cape]] | subdivision_type2 = [[Districts of South Africa|District]] | subdivision_name2 = [[O.R. Tambo District Municipality|O.R. Tambo]] | subdivision_type3 = [[List of municipalities of South Africa|Municipality]] | subdivision_name3 = [[King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality|King Sabata Dalindyebo]] | subdivision_type4 = Main Place | established_title = Established | leader_title = Councillor | area_footnotes = <ref name="census2011">{{cite web |url=http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/294453 |title = Main Place Coffee Bay |work=Census 2011}}</ref> | area_total_km2 = 0.64 | population_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" /> | population_total = 258 | population_as_of = 2011 | population_density_km2 = auto <!-- demographics (section 1) -->| demographics_type1 = Racial makeup (2011) | demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" /> | demographics1_title1 = [[Bantu peoples of South Africa|Black African]] | demographics1_info1 = 73.0% | demographics1_title2 = [[Coloureds|Coloured]] | demographics1_info2 = 3.5% | demographics1_title3 = [[Indian South African|Indian]]/[[Asian South African|Asian]] | demographics1_info3 = | demographics1_title4 = [[White South African|White]] | demographics1_info4 = 20.8% | demographics1_title5 = Other | demographics1_info5 = 2.7% <!-- demographics (section 2) -->| demographics_type2 = [[First language]]s (2011) | demographics2_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" /> | demographics2_title1 = [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]] | demographics2_info1 = 65.5% | demographics2_title2 = [[South African English|English]] | demographics2_info2 = 22.9% | demographics2_title3 = [[Afrikaans]] | demographics2_info3 = 7.4% | demographics2_title4 = | demographics2_info4 = | demographics2_title5 = Other | demographics2_info5 = 4.3% <!-- blank fields (section 2) --> <!-- Other information -->| timezone1 = [[South African Standard Time|SAST]] | utc_offset1 = +2 | postal_code_type = [[List of postal codes in South Africa|Postal code]] (street) | postal_code = | postal2_code_type = [[Post-office box|PO box]] | postal2_code = 5082 | area_code_type = [[Telephone numbers in South Africa|Area code]] | area_code = 047 | website = [http://www.coffeebay.co.za www.coffeebay.co.za] }} '''Coffee Bay''' ({{langx|af|Koffiebaai}}) is a town on the [[Wild Coast Region, Eastern Cape|Wild Coast]] of the [[Eastern Cape Province]] of [[South Africa]]. It is located about 250 kilometres south-west of the city of [[Durban]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pZ8aAAAAIBAJ&pg=6584,1947447&dq=coffee-bay&hl=en|title=Ship sinking in rough seas|date=4 August 1991|work=[[The Milwaukee Journal]]|accessdate=7 February 2011}}</ref> and has a population of 258 people.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fitzpatrick|first1=Mary|last2=Armstrong|first2=Kate|title=South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y4c1a6GSQ8cC&dq=%22coffee+bay%22+%22eastern+cape%22&pg=PA288|year=2006|publisher=[[Lonely Planet]]|isbn=1-74059-970-5|page=287}}</ref>
The town is named after the hundreds of coffee trees which grew from beans either scattered by a shipwreck or by plunderers.<ref name=dsapn>{{cite web|title=Dictionary of Southern African Place Names (Public Domain)|url=https://archive.org/details/DictionaryOfSouthernAfricanPlaceNames|publisher=Human Science Research Council|page=120}}</ref> A holiday resort in [[Tembuland]] is located 80 km south-east of [[Viedgesville]]. It can be reached via a turn-off from the N2 highway.
The [[Mthatha River]]'s mouth is near Coffee Bay.<ref>[http://www.ewisa.co.za/literature/files/458%20Kululwa.pdf Mthatha River System - 2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407163947/http://www.ewisa.co.za/literature/files/458%20Kululwa.pdf |date=2016-04-07 }}</ref>
==History== One of the arguments is that the town was named Coffee Bay in 1893 after a shipwreck lost its cargo of coffee beans near the coast of Coffee Bay, although there may no longer be any coffee trees or beans in the Coffee Bay area. The municipality is located in an area that was previously part of the [[Xhosa people|Xhosa]] [[bantustan]], [[Transkei]], and the population is still predominantly Xhosa.<ref name="coffeebay.co.za">{{cite web |url=https://coffeebay.co.za/about/ |title=About Coffee Bay - History and Legends |website=coffeebay.co.za |access-date=16 January 2018}}</ref>
==Oceanos Sinking== on the 4th August 1991 off the coast of South Africa, the [[MTS Oceanos]] sank off the coast of [[East London, South Africa]] after the South African Air Force Participated in the Rescue Effort, all 571 Passengers were able to escape the sinking vessel just mere minutes before the plunge.
==Geography== Coffee Bay is a small village situated on the South African "Wild Coast" which stretches for 160 kilometres South from the Kei River mouth to Port Edward in the North and approximately 100 kilometres inland. The nearest large town, Mthatha, is approximately 80 kilometres away. Coffee Bay falls within the King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) district of the O.R Tambo District Municipality. The area is filled with diverse wild flora and fauna.<ref name="coffeebay.co.za"/>
==Infrastructure== The community is largely rural and Coffee Bay's infrastructure includes informal settlements, a trading store, a plain camping site and two resort hotels.
==Community== The traditional [[Xhosa people|Xhosa]] lifestyle in Coffee Bay is one of the aspects that draw tourists to the area. At the same time, the [[Eastern Cape]] Department of Social Development identified challenges that include high unemployment rates, [[malnutrition]], housing shortages, infrastructure backlogs, low levels of health facilities, low levels of education, [[HIV]] and [[environmental degradation]]. The communities’ lives are dominated by poverty and ill-health,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sustainablecoffeebay.org.za/about-coffee-bay/ |title= |website=www.sustainablecoffeebay.org.za |access-date=15 January 2018}}{{title missing|date=May 2022}}</ref> and most of the population do not comply with the environmental legislation regarding the use of natural resources. A study has suggested that the high illiteracy and unemployment compels people to use coastal natural resources to satisfy their basic needs.<ref>Mahlangabeza, Neliswa Joyce (2016) Perceptions of local communities on legislation governing the use of natural resources in coffee bay and hole in-the wall, Mqanduli, Eastern Cape, South Africa, University of South Africa, Pretoria, <http://hdl.handle.net/10500/20677></ref> [[File:Xhosa-children.JPG|thumb|right|Children in the village of Coffee Bay]]
===Folklore=== [[Hole-in-the-Wall, Eastern Cape|Hole in the Wall]], in Coffee Bay, is a large hole which is scored neatly into a cliff that extends over the sea. The hole amplifies the sound of the waves onto the rock, inspiring the local Xhosa people to name it esiKhaleni which means ‘place of sound’.<ref>http://www.southafrica.com/eastern-cape/transkei/coffee-bay/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130206172137/http://www.southafrica.com/eastern-cape/transkei/coffee-bay/ |date=2013-02-06 }} Accessed 15 December 2018</ref> There are many different folklore tales about the Hole in the Wall. Many believe that the hole is a gateway to ancestors. People also believe that the Mpako River once formed a landlocked lagoon blocked by the cliff.<ref>http://www.awesomesouthafrica.co.za/2012/10/the-legend-of-the-hole-in-the-wall/ Accessed 2018</ref> Most accept the scientific explanation that the hole is the result of many years of waves breaking against the cliff.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.news24.com/Travel/South-Africa/Legend-of-the-Hole-in-the-Wall-20120925 |title=Legend of the Hole in the Wall |website=www.news24.com |access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref>
==See also== *[[Mpofu Nature Reserve]] *[[Augrabies Falls]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *https://mg.co.za/article/2010-03-12-fear-and-loathing-in-coffee-bay *https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-01-28-unspoiled-beaches-mangrove-swamps-fields-of-ganja-a-walk-on-the-wild-side/#.Wl-hq7zyPMU
*[http://www.coffeebay.co.za coffeebay.co.za] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20130402060327/http://whatsupincoffeebay.co.za/ whatsupincoffeebay.co.za] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20130206172137/http://www.southafrica.com/eastern-cape/transkei/coffee-bay/ southafrica.com/eastern-cape/Transkei/coffee-bay] *[https://mg.co.za/article/2010-03-12-fear-and-loathing-in-coffee-bay] *[https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-01-28-unspoiled-beaches-mangrove-swamps-fields-of-ganja-a-walk-on-the-wild-side/#.Wl-hq7zyPMU]
{{OR Tambo District Municipality}}
[[Category:Housing in South Africa]] [[Category:Populated places in the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality]]