Indigenous clans have called this hamlet and the surrounding areas home for thousands of years; long before a tribe of nomadic !Kai Ikorana settled here and named it after their chief, !Nyisna, or the Europeans arrived and christened it Knysna. Knysna’s astounding modern history plays off against the backdrop of a gold rush, timber felling and boat building.
The need to transport this timber gave birth to the forest railway and a lasting association with model trains. The mysterious forest has given flight to the imagination of many, most famously the author of the literary wonder Circles in a Forest, Dalene Matthee. And if you want to get off dry land and into the water, why not dive the wreck of the 1903 German sail ship, the Paquita.
For an intriguing look back in time, watch The Living Heritage of Knysna.
