Knysna tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 06:00 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are Africa/Johannesburg local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Last spring tide on Sat 16 May (range 2.0m). Next spring tide on Sun 17 May (range 2.0m). Next neap on Fri 22 May.

Spring tides cluster around new and full moons (biggest swings). Neap tides land on quarter moons (smallest swings). See the spring tide and neap tide glossary entries for the why.

Knysna is on South Africa's Garden Route, 90 kilometres west of Port Elizabeth, where the Knysna Lagoon opens to the Indian Ocean through the Knysna Heads — two sandstone headlands that frame one of the most dramatic natural harbour entrances in southern Africa. The lagoon covers 18 km² and supports an important estuarine ecosystem; the Heads create a notoriously challenging bar crossing. Tidal pattern is semidiurnal with a mean spring range of about 1.6 metres. The Heads are the defining feature. From the eastern Head (Eastern Head viewpoint, accessible by road), the bar crossing can be observed: the tidal current through the 80-metre gap between the sandstone cliffs runs 3 to 5 knots on spring tides, and Indian Ocean swell pushes through from the south. The combination of current, swell, and the shallow bar has claimed over 40 vessels in documented history. Only the Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe tourist train used to announce bar crossings with a whistle from the headland — the train no longer runs, but local boatmen still time their crossings with precision on the flood. The lagoon inside is calm, warm (18 to 22°C), and 1 to 3 metres deep in the navigable channels. Kayaking the Knysna Lagoon from the town waterfront to the Heads and back is a full-day paddle with remarkable scenery — the protected lagoon ecosystem includes Knysna seahorses (Hippocampus capensis, critically endangered, found only in a few South African estuaries), mangrove channels, and the oyster beds for which Knysna is famous commercially. Knysna oysters are grown on suspended culture ropes in the lagoon and are available at the waterfront restaurants and markets. The annual Knysna Oyster Festival in July draws 50,000 visitors over ten days. The oysters are Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) commercially, but the endemic Knysna seahorse lives in the seagrass beds that anchor the lagoon ecosystem. Surf on the open Indian Ocean coast near Knysna is at the beaches accessible from the Leisure Isle and Brenton-on-Sea — exposed south-facing beaches that pick up Southern Ocean swell. The swell size and cold Agulhas Current water (16 to 19°C) gives the Garden Route coast a challenging surf climate. Predictions on this page come from Open-Meteo Marine, a gridded global ocean model. Accuracy is typically within plus or minus 45 minutes on timing and 0.2 to 0.3 metres on height — model-derived, not from a local gauge. For South African tide data, consult the South African Navy Hydrographic Office (SANHO) at hydro.navy.mil.za.