Butre

Butre sits where the Butre river comes out through mangroves to a beach, a small village reached by a track from the Busua road and crossed by a footbridge to the sand. On the hill above stand the remains of Fort Batenstein, built by the Dutch in 1656 and now largely ruined, reached by a steep path through scrub with a view down over the river mouth, the beach and the forest. Canoe trips run up the river through the mangroves, poled by local boatmen, and the estuary holds birds and, occasionally, monitor lizards. The village is quieter than Busua and has a handful of simple guesthouses. It makes a half-day from a base along this coast.

Highlights

• Fort Batenstein ruins - the collapsed Dutch fort on the hill.
• The river mouth - where the mangrove channel meets the beach.
• Mangrove canoe trips - the poled trips upriver from the village.
• The beach - the sand below the footbridge.

When to go

November to March in the dry season, when the track and the path up to the fort are easiest. Mornings are best for the canoe trips and for birds on the river.

Good to know

The fort is a genuine ruin with unstable masonry and an overgrown path. The track into the village is rough. Canoe fees are negotiated informally and vary. Facilities in the village are very limited.

Nearby

Busua lies west; Cape Three Points is further along the coast.

Key facts