Bananas
Port Edward is surrounded by banana plantations. The tree-high shrubs have huge, up to 4 m long and 60 cm wide leaves. Between the leaves grows a
1,5 m long pedicel. When the bananas are ripe, the blooming pedicel dies and new sprouts grow. They can bear fruit after only a few months. A single banana shrub can produce, in three harvests per year, up to a hundred kilos of bananas.
While the fruit is growing and ripening, the banana stands are in most plantations covered in strikingly blue plastic bags. These serve to increase the temperature and keep insects off the fruits. Eco-farmers don't use them, because they eventually represent an awful lot of plastic waste.
North Sand Bluff Lighthouse
The world's smallest desert lies outside the town and can only be visited accompanied by a knowledgeable guide. Contact Dave Watson at the Lighthouse Café. He organises informative and entertaining tours. Tel 082 3744114.
Umtamvuna Nature Reserve
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