Page 159 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - South Africa

FUR THER AFIELD  157

8 Fish Hoek
Road map B5. M4, False Bay. *
11,900. £ from Cape Town station,
Adderley St.
Only recently was liquor allowed
to be sold in Fish Hoek; until
then it was a “dry” municipality.
This condition had been written
into a property grant made by
Governor Lord Charles Somerset
in 1818, and was repealed only
in the 1990s. Muizenberg’s beachfront seen from Boyes Drive
The broad stretch of Fish Hoek
beach is lined with changing tide, waves crash against attract young and old alike.
rooms, cafés and a yacht club, the breakwater between the The railway station perches on
and is popular with families and restaurant and the sea. Kalk a rocky section of shore line,
the sailing fraternity. Regattas Bay is also popular for the where the curve of the bay is
are held regularly, and cata­ many antique and art shops known as Surfer’s Corner, due
marans and Hobie Cats often that line Main Road. to its popularity among surfers.
line the beach. Jager’s Walk, a There are several surf shops here
pleas ant pathway over looking that offer lessons for beginners.
the sea and the beach, runs 9 Muizenberg
along the edge of the bay.
Road map B5. M4, False Bay.
* 36,900. £ from Cape Town
Environs station, Adderley St.
The M4 continues northwards,
staying close to the shore. It The name Muizenberg comes
passes through the seaside from the Dutch phrase Muijs zijn
suburb of St James, which has berg, meaning “Muijs’s mountain”.
a small, safe family beach and Wynand Willem Muijs was a
is characterized by a row of sergeant who, from 1743,
wooden bathing huts that commanded a military post
have all been painted in bright on the moun tain overlooking
primary colours. the beach.
At the picturesque little Muizenberg’s white sands,
fishing harbour of Kalk Bay, which curve for 40 km (25 miles) Rhodes Cottage
the daily catches of fresh fish, around False Bay as far as the
particularly snoek, are sold town of Strand, rightly earned Environs
directly from the boats. The the town its status as the Cecil John Rhodes, prime
height of the snoek season country’s premier holiday retreat minister of the Cape Colony
varies, but usually extends in the 19th century. Traces of this from 1890–95, started a trend
from June to July. The Brass early popularity are still visible when he bought Barkly Cottage
Bell restaurant, sandwiched in the now­shabby façades of in Muizenberg in 1899. Soon,
between the railway station and once­grand beach mansions. holiday man sions began to
the rocky shore, has a popular Today, a fast­food pavilion, sea­ mushroom at the seaside resort,
pub, good seafood and, at high water pool and wide lawns although most were in stark
contrast to his simple, stone­
walled, thatched cottage. The
cottage is today a museum
in Main Road and has been
renamed Rhodes Cottage.
The museum contains
photographs and personal
memorabilia of the powerful
empire builder and statesman,
including his dia mond­weighing
scale and the chest in which he
carried his personal belongings.
P Rhodes Cottage
246 Main Rd. Tel 021 788 1816.
Open 10am–2pm Mon–Sat.
Fish Hoek beach offers safe bathing Closed 25 Dec. & by donation.

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