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 its fishing community goes back to freed slaves from Bengal, Indonesia and Ceylon and to Filipino fishermen who settled here in the nineteenth century. Tidal pools, a surf break at Dalebrook and the Metrorail line running along the shore complete it.

History

Governor Simon van der Stel first wrote down the name Kalkbaai, lime bay, in 1687, after the mussel shells burnt here for lime. The early fishing community, largely Muslim, built a mosque in 1846, whaling flourished from around 1806 until 1902, the railway arrived in 1883 and work on the harbour began on 6 March 1913 (Wikipedia, Kalk Bay).

What you'll find

• 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.

Good to know

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.

Key facts