Wildside TIMES #5

THE CAPE ST FRANCIS RESORT

By Craig Jarvis

About 25 years ago, I went travelling to Indonesia by myself. Back then, in the mid-’90s, Indonesia and more so Sumatra, was a wild place. I flew into Medan on the eastern seaboard of Sumatra, and a kind local invited me to spend the night at his house with his family. The following day I was back at the airport, trying to get onto a flight on SMAC Airlines to the island of Nias. The flight was fully booked. It was an 8-seater prop plane. What a bummer. Then the customers started arriving, and they were South Africans. They all schmokkled with the airline, and eventually, we flew, destination Lagundri Bay.

They were heading over to meet up with Fasie Malherbe anchored in the bay with his boat, Moonpath. So, I’ve known Fasie since then.

When the Moonpath sailed out of the bay, I had a new friend in Sam Mienie (RIP), who moved into the losman next to me for the next few months.

CJ: Remember that Trip?

FM: We had some incredible trips on the Moonpath back then,” remembers Fasie. The Indonesian waters were way less crowded back then, and there was

But you had already bought The Resort by then?

Yes, I bought the resort in 1988. Back then, it was a campsite. It was the Cape St Francis Caravan Park. We left it as a caravan park for 5 years. From then, I had a partner called Paul Lee. His background was taking people down rivers in canoes, and he was very keen on tourism. He was good at finding foreign tourists for his canoe tourism. So we decided to go to Indaba in Durban, where we met all the foreign tour companies and the right people. Paul moved on in 2002, after 10 years. During this time, we started the Full Stop restaurant and Pub at the Flats. That Full Stop began in 1995, and my daughter Gina ran it. I sold it in 2000.

I remember it well back then.

Yes, it was getting hectic and very noisy at that stage. There was quite a bit that was upsetting the people all around. We also owned the flats, and we sold that off in sectional title, which enabled us to start building in The Resort. We first built on the ridge, going in on the left-hand side, and the apartments had views over

minimal movement at the outer islands.

Steve Walsh ran the restaurant and he was quite the legend back then

It was 34 years ago that Fasie Malherbe took over the Cape St Francis Resort. We caught up with him to shoot the breeze and reminisce on all the beautiful times shared at the resort.

the campsite and sea views. At that stage, Anita was still working at the Golf Course.

I didn’t realise that she was the person behind the Calamari Classic.

She was. She came here in 2002.

What was her position when she came in?

She was the boss.

The pool, restaurant, hall and Pub are the heart of the resort.

Yes, this whole complex happened when the Soccer World Cup soccer was here. They were playing in PE, and we had the South American teams. So we had three sides living with us. We had to build the hall and extend the Pub, and there was space on top. It was the hall that put us in the conference market.

We had this little courtyard, Steve Walsh ran the restaurant, and he was quite a legend back then. The Park Off Pub was small, and Steve cooked over an open fire inside the restaurant. Steve used to do braais and only wanted to cook on open fires.

Fast forward through the dark days. Now that COVID is a thing of the past, how are things going here?

Well, things have changed. It is now fiercely competitive between AirBNB and ourselves.

Still, you guys are a one-stop shop. You have excellent facilities, you have security, you have restaurants, and you have entertainment. You have river and canal cruises and get your guests to places like Addo.

We do all these things and more.

It’s great getting tourists, but you must look after the locals.

Absolutely. Our Sundays are huge and that is usually full of locals. We have several specials at Joe Fish and live music. It’s a full-on institution, and the place rocks on a Sunday. We’re usually totally full every Sunday. It’s always a lot of fun.

So how else has it changed here concerning tourism and visitors?

Well, conferences have become much smaller, enabling us to look after people better. We do team building as well. Recently we had all the people from the PGA Golf coming here and staying with us. We also hosted Expedition Africa and were a co-sponsor of the Rip Curl GromSearch. We also have the Chokka Trail run, and that’s very popular.

This season looks busy.

Yes, we are confident of a busy season. Still, whatever happens, we will look after the locals. We will always make a plan for locals. Our greatest joy is a full resort over the festive season. Good weather, and Joe Fish and Full Stop are both pumping.

Our Sundays are huge and that is usually full of locals. We have several specials at Joe Fish and live music.