Kalk Bay

Kalk Bay is a strip of village between the mountain and False Bay, and it has kept something most Cape coastal towns lost: a working harbour where small wooden boats still go out for snoek and yellowtail and sell them off the quay when they come back, gutted on the spot, with Cape fur seals hauled out beside the buyers waiting for scraps. The name comes from lime - kalk - burnt from shells here in the seventeenth century. The main road above the harbour is a run of antique shops, bookshops, cafes and galleries that gave the village its bohemian label, and the community has a long fishing history, much of it descended from families forcibly moved elsewhere in the twentieth century who kept returning to work the boats. Tidal pools, a surf break at Dalebrook and the Metrorail line running along the shore complete it.

What you actually see

• The working quay - boats landing snoek and yellowtail, sold and gutted on the spot.
• The waiting seals - Cape fur seals hauled out beside the fish buyers.
• The antique strip - bookshops, galleries and cafes along the main road above.
• The shore railway - the Metrorail line running between the village and the sea.

When to go

All year; snoek season runs through the cooler months. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Parking on the main road is very limited and traffic backs up on weekends. The harbour is a workplace - keep clear of ropes and winches. Seals bite and should not be approached. The rail line has had service disruptions.

Nearby

Simon's Town is south; Muizenberg and its beach huts are north.