If it was filmmaker, the late Bruce Brown, who first put St Francis on the map with his epic movie “The Endless Summer” in 1964, where he described how he found the perfect wave, then it was Natal sugar cane farmer, Leighton Hullett, who laid the foundation for what we have today.
He bought a property after seeing an advert in the Farmer’s Weekly in 1954 and soon set up a simple fishing camp. As the destination’s popularity grew, he started developing his dream of creating a Marina, which would be the only one of its kind in South Africa at that time.
The development progressed with the addition of a golf course, an airfield, a small well-equipped shop and a luxury hotel with bottle store. More land was acquired which allowed for the development of Santareme Bay and extended to Cape St Francis and beyond.
In the early 80’s the value of Chokka, the local name for squid or calamari, was discovered. Previously Chokka’s main purpose was bait. European markets appreciated the quality and realised that Chokka was very similar to the squid that was caught in the Mediterranean. With the value of the rand declining in the mid 1980’s, the demand increased and Chokka became a competitive product on the international markets.
This led to the development of Port St Francis in 1997. This is one of the few privately owned commercial harbours in South Africa and serves as a base for the Chokka fleets, hake and pilchard vessels, as well as recreational craft. The commercial fishing industries based at Port St Francis are a significant contributor to the local economy having created employment opportunities for at least 3000 people, with the Chokka being considered “White Gold”.
Every year for the last 25, St Francis has celebrated the significance of Chokka by hosting the Calamari Classic. Over the years, this has included a golf tournament and a bowls tournament. Since 2017 St Francis Tourism added the Calamari Festival which includes a wine tasting, calamari cook off and tastings and other activities over a weekend.
This year the festivities are being taken a step further. The festival will take place over a week, from Friday the 20 September until Saturday 28 September. The regular features remain, but the programme for this year’s festival will include a greater focus on celebrating the rich heritage and culture of the region which will include live music performances, an art expo, a wildflower and shipwreck experience, whale watching safaris, family fishing, a calamari cook off with celebrity chef Justin Bonello, dune walks and the town’s 70th anniversary celebration.
The Calamari Route will be officially launched on Saturday the 21st September. The Route includes 14 local restaurants offering visitors and food enthusiasts the opportunity to enjoy locally caught Calamari. The Route is open all year round and will showcase the diversity of the gastronomic experiences in the area with “white gold” being a standard item on the menu.
In addition to culinary delights, the route includes a Chokka trail, a 62km slackpack hiking trail that takes place over 4 days / 3 nights as well as a Get Inked calamari boat trip and calamari tasting at Chokka Block Restaurant.
The Calamari Festival will showcase that St Francis is a desirable destination for culinary explorers, as well as outdoor enthusiasts. Considering St Francis’s long association with Chokka and the role that Calamari has played in making the region what it is today, there is no doubt that St Francis has earned to the right to be recognised as the Calamari Capital of South Africa.
“A significant part of the charm of the area are the architectural guidelines that have been applied to certain areas. Despite a surge in development in the area, the ethos is fiercely guarded with a view to maintaining the village feel, whether you are in the The Bay, Santareme or Cape St Francis,” says Dionne Collett, St Francis Tourism Chair, “add to that the Light House at Seal Point, a structure that remains the tallest masonry building on the South African coast, two great golf courses and a host of hospitable people and you have all the ingredients for a sought-after tourist destination!”