Eastern Cape
A wedding band lost on King's Beach, and a long stretch of sand to account for
King's Beach in Gqeberha is 1.6 km of sand, so the first thing we ask is where along it you put your towel down.
A wedding band that went missing on King's Beach can be looked for, whether it dropped on the sand or in the shallows. What decides it is which part of this long beach you were on, and whether it went while you were swimming, body surfing or packing up to leave.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone in the Eastern Cape with a metal detectorist who can search there.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
The page also takes in Hobie Beach and Pollok Beach in Summerstrand, Jeffreys Bay and St Francis Bay along the Kouga coast, Port Alfred, and the beaches of East London.
Put yourself on the map before you leave the beachfront
Stand where your towel was and look up the beach. Whatever was straight behind you, a building, the harbour wall or the pier, is the line a search starts from, so photograph it from that spot and save your location on your phone's map while you are still there.
The same works away from the sand. On the lawn at Pollok, at a canal jetty in St Francis Bay or beside the fun fair on the Jeffreys Bay promenade, one fixed thing next to you and a saved location say more than a long description written later.
Places we cover in the Eastern Cape
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- King's Beach and Humewood
- Hobie Beach
- Shark Rock Pier
- Pollok Beach, Summerstrand
- Cape Recife
- Sardinia Bay and Schoenmakerskop
- New Brighton Beach
- Bluewater Bay
- St George's Strand
- Jeffreys Bay
- Main Beach, Jeffreys Bay
- Dolphin Beach
- Super Tubes and Point
- Aston Bay
- Paradise Beach
- Kabeljous
- St Francis Bay and the canals
- Port St Francis
- Cape St Francis and Seal Point
- Port Alfred
- Kelly's Beach
- East Beach and West Beach, Port Alfred
- Kenton-on-Sea
- East London
- Eastern Beach
- Nahoon Mouth
- Nahoon Point and Nahoon Reef
- Gonubie Beach
Algoa Bay, Kouga, Port Alfred and East London
City beaches in Gqeberha, the surf and canal towns of Kouga, and the river mouths of Port Alfred and East London.
King's Beach, Gqeberha
King's Beach is a wide expanse of golden sand that extends from the harbour wall to Humewood. People come to swim, body surf, sunbathe and take long walks, and there is a supertube, a snack bar, change-rooms, a lifesavers' centre and a playground for children. On a busy day those are the landmarks that tell one stretch from another.
Hobie Beach, Shark Rock Pier and Pollok
Hobie Beach, near Shark Rock Pier, is a favourite for swimming, sunbathing and body surfing, with sheltered rock pools and a launching place for sailing. Pollok Beach, which locals call the Pipe, is known for its waves, and surfers rig on its lawn. Both lie in Summerstrand.
Cape Recife and Sardinia Bay
Beyond Summerstrand, a circular walking trail of about nine kilometres takes in the unspoilt beaches, dunes, rocky outcrops and lighthouse of Cape Recife. Further west, between Schoenmakerskop and Seaview, Sardinia Bay is one of the best walking beaches on this coast, with picnic spots, snorkelling and diving, and the start of the Sacramento trail.
Main Beach and Dolphin Beach, Jeffreys Bay
The Main Beach promenade in Jeffreys Bay has putt-putt, a fun fair and a supertube, which makes it easy to say where the children were playing. Dolphin Beach, Aston Bay and Paradise Beach all belong to Jeffreys Bay as well, so give us the name of the beach and not only the town. North of the town, Kabeljous has a stretch of coast backed by dune thicket and wetland, with walks through it.
St Francis Bay, Port St Francis and Cape St Francis
St Francis Bay is a holiday village with houses along canals that link to the Kromme River, and cruises run on both. Port St Francis has a commercial and recreational harbour where pleasure craft and yachts tie up. Next door, Cape St Francis is a fishing village known for surfing at Seal Point, its stretch of beach and its lighthouse.
Port Alfred: Kelly's Beach, East Beach and West Beach
The Kowie River runs through the middle of Port Alfred and splits the sand into East Beach and West Beach. East Beach is long, good for walking, and popular with surfers and dog walkers. West Beach is a family spot for tanning and sandcastles, and bodyboarders like its breaks. Kelly's Beach has rock pools to the west, and Kariega Beach at Kenton-on-Sea is a place for a walk.
East London: Eastern Beach, Nahoon Mouth and Gonubie
Eastern Beach is popular for its central position and white sand, across the road from Ebuhlanti. At the bottom of Beach Road, the Nahoon River reaches the sea at a wide-open beach where you will seldom have the sand to yourself. Gonubie Beach sits where the Gqunube River meets the sea. At Nahoon Point a boardwalk winds through coastal bush past rock outcrops and white sand, and Nahoon Reef, a surfing and snorkelling spot, has a rock pool for a swim at low tide.
How a case runs from our side
No handovers
Your case is not passed from desk to desk. Whoever answers your first WhatsApp message stays with it until it is closed.
Sorted before it is sent
We go through your pins, photos and notes with you first, fill in what is missing, and only then pass them to the detectorist as one clear brief.
Poor odds are not hidden
Some losses are much harder than others. When yours looks like one of those, you are told so plainly, and the choice to go ahead stays with you.
Money comes up early
We explain the costs before any search is booked, so they are clear while you are still weighing it up.
Point breaks, river mouths and rock pools
Say which of these you were near when it went.
The Jeffreys Bay breaks
The surf breaks at Jeffreys Bay include Kitchen Window, Magna Tubes, Super Tubes, Point and Albatross, and Boneyards sits right next to Super Tubes. Name the break first; the rest of our questions follow from it.
Where rivers meet the sea
Several beaches here sit at a river: the Kowie between East and West Beach in Port Alfred, the Nahoon and the Gqunube in East London, and the Kromme at St Francis Bay. Say whether you were on the river side or the sea side.
Rock pools and boat trips
Hobie Beach has sheltered rock pools, and there are rock pools west of Kelly's Beach too, so say whether you were exploring them. Something dropped over the side on a cruise out in Algoa Bay is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
Questions about the Eastern Cape
We moved our towels twice on King's Beach. Which spot matters most?
At the last spot where you know the band was still on, and then at each place you sat after that. King's Beach runs from the harbour wall to Humewood, so tell us which of the two ends each spot was nearer, and what was behind you: the lifesavers' centre, the playground or the snack bar. Say too whether you went into the water in between, and roughly how deep.
Does it help that my watch went while we were swimming right beside Shark Rock Pier?
It does. Hobie Beach is close to the pier, and a concrete pier is a fixed line nobody can argue with. Tell us which side of it you were on, how far out along it you had swum, and whether you then sat on the sand or went over to the rock pools. Send a photo of the watch and its strap or bracelet.
My phone was lying on the lawn at Pollok Beach while we got the boards ready, and now it is not.
Pollok has plenty of lawn, and surfers use it to rig before going in. Mark the patch of grass you used, the parking area if you walked back to the car, and the path you took down to the water. Send a picture of the case so it can be recognised.
What happens if the ring came off in the water at Point, in Jeffreys Bay?
We start by asking where you paddled out and where you came in. Point lies east of Super Tubes, and its waves tend to be a little smaller, with a longer ride. Say too whether you felt it go while duck-diving, while sitting on the board or on the walk back through the shallows, because each points to a different part of the water.
We spent the morning at the Main Beach fun area in Jeffreys Bay and the afternoon on Dolphin Beach. Which one lost the bracelet?
Give us the two places as separate pins, each with a rough time. The Main Beach promenade has the putt-putt, the fun fair and the supertube, so name the ones the children used. On Dolphin Beach, a pin for your towel is the main thing. Describe the bracelet: the metal, the clasp and any charms.
A set of keys went over the side on a trip along the St Francis Bay canals.
The canals are linked to the Kromme River, and cruises run on both, so we first need to know which stretch of water you were on. The house, jetty or bridge you were passing when the keys went in is the best mark, together with the time and who was steering. A photo of the spare key shows what to look for.
I had both earrings in on the sand at Kelly's Beach and only one after the rock pools.
Then the pools and the walk to them come first. The rock pools lie to the west of Kelly's, so tell us where on the sand you were sitting, which way you went to reach them, and whether you swam afterwards. A photo of the earring you still have shows exactly what to look for.
In East London we spent the day at Gonubie, partly by the river. Does that change anything?
It adds a second place to check. Gonubie Beach and Gonubie Mouth are where the Gqunube River meets the sea, and the two are popular with locals and holidaymakers alike. Say how long you spent beside the river and how long facing the sea, and describe the necklace or chain that went: its length, the clasp and any pendant.
Eastern Cape
Start with the beach and the last time you saw it
Gqeberha, Jeffreys Bay, St Francis, Port Alfred or East London.
That is enough for a first WhatsApp message. Our reply asks which landmark was nearest, and that is the moment to send a pin.