Jeffreys Bay Jeffreysbaai |
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Jeffreys Bay Beach
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Jeffreys Bay shown within Eastern Cape | |
Coordinates: 34°2′S 24°55′E / 34.033°S 24.917°ECoordinates: 34°2′S 24°55′E / 34.033°S 24.917°E | |
Country | South Africa |
Province | Eastern Cape |
District | Sarah Baartman |
Municipality | Kouga |
Established | 1849 |
Area | |
• Total | 20.79 km2 (8.03 sq mi) |
Population (2011) | |
• Total | 27,107 |
• Density | 1,300/km2 (3,400/sq mi) |
Racial makeup (2011) | |
• Black African | 37.5% |
• Coloured | 22.7% |
• Indian/Asian | 0.2% |
• White | 38.9% |
• Other | 0.7% |
First languages (2011) | |
• Afrikaans | 54.4% |
• Xhosa | 28.8% |
• English | 11.8% |
• Other | 5.0% |
Postal code (street) | 6330 |
PO box | 6330 |
Area code | +27 (0)42 |
Jeffreys Bay (Afrikaans: Jeffreysbaai, also known as J-bay) is a town located in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The town is situated just off the N2 Highway, about 75 km southwest of Port Elizabeth.
Jeffreys Bay is named after the senior partner of the firm Jeffrey & Glendinnings that opened a store in 1849 on the location where the town is today. Jeffrey is believed to be the first person to have settled there.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Jeffreys Bay was known as a hippie hangout, where the now-burgeoning surf community originated. Jeffreys Bay has grown from a sleepy little fishing town over the past few years and is one of the fastest expanding urban areas in the country.
Xhosa, Afrikaans and English are the three most spoken languages.
Jeffreys Bay is a constituent part of the Kouga Local Municipality of the Cacadu District in the Eastern Cape Province.
Jeffreys Bay is one of the five most famous surfing destinations (no.2 on one "best in the world" surfing list) in the world and hosts the annual World Surf League (WSL) surfing event at Super Tubes during July. Spectators and professional surfers from all over the world flock to this event. In 2015, Mick Fanning was attacked by a shark two minutes into the J-Bay Open finals in Jeffreys Bay. Fanning was in the water with Julian Wilson during the final of the J-Bay Open 2015 when he was attacked by what is suspected to be a great white shark. Fanning punched the shark and tried to wedge his board between the shark and his body, and he emerged from the attack physically unharmed.