Kalk Bay (

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

: ''Kalkbaai'') is a

fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 m ...

on the coast of

False Bay False Bay (Afrikaans ''Valsbaai'') is a body of water in the Atlantic Ocean between the mountainous Cape Peninsula and the Hottentots Holland Mountains in the extreme south-west of South Africa. The mouth of the bay faces south and is demarcat ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and is now a suburb of greater

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. It lies between the

ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

and sharply rising mountainous heights that are buttressed by crags of grey

Table Mountain Sandstone The Table Mountain Sandstone (TMS) is a group of rock formations within the Cape Supergroup sequence of rocks. Although the term "Table Mountain Sandstone" is still widely used in common parlance, the term TMS is no longer formally recogni ...

.Compton, J.S. (2004).''The Rocks and Mountains of Cape Town''. p. 24-26, 44-70. Double Storey Books, Cape Town. . The

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

from

Simon's Town Simon's Town ( af, Simonstad), sometimes spelled Simonstown, is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa and is home to Naval Base Simon's Town, the South African Navy's largest base. It is located on the shores of False Bay, on the eastern ...

passes through Kalk Bay and in some places the line is only metres from the water's edge. In 2018

Forbes Magazine ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also repo ...

voted the neighborhood one of the "coolest in the world".

History

The foundation stone for the harbour was laid in 1913. A literal translation from the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

name "Kalkbaai" is "Lime Bay". This derives from the vast deposits of mussel shells found there, which early settlers burned to make

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

for construction. Lime kilns to roast mussel shells are still found along the west coast. Several famous caves (with names such as 'Boomslang Cave' named after the

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

, 'Ronan's Well', after the

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...

novel ''

Saint Ronan's Well ''Saint Ronan's Well'' is one of the Waverley novels by Sir Walter Scott. Set in a fashionable spa in the Scottish Borders, it is the only novel he wrote with a 19th-century setting. Composition and sources The composition of ''Saint Ronan's Wel ...

'', and 'Free Drinks Saloon') are located in the mountains above the village. They are of importance to speleologists because they have formed in sandstone. Large cave systems are not often found in this type of chemically unreactive rock. Kalk Bay is also home to the tiny but locally famous surf spot named "Kalk Bay Reef". This is renowned for heavy barrels and the associated shallow reef. It is best surfed on a big south-easterly swell or a north west wind. In smaller swells low tide makes for better barrels.

Southern right whale The southern right whale (''Eubalaena australis'') is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus ''Eubalaena''. Southern right whales inhabit oceans south of the Equator, between the latitudes of 20 ...

s come here during

whale watching Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins ( cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 2 ...

seasons, and are often seen playing or resting very close to surfers or piers. Whale activity can often be seen from Boyes Drive, a road that connects the southern suburbs of Cape Town to Kalk Bay and suburbs further south on the Peninsula.

Coat of arms

Kalk Bay (including

Muizenberg Muizenberg ( , Dutch for "mice mountain") is a beach-side town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is situated where the shore of the Cape Peninsula curves round to the east on the False Bay coast. It is considered to be the main surfing spo ...

and St James) was a municipality from 1895 to 1913. The town council assumed a coat of arms, designed by Frank Newnes, in July 1901.Western Cape Archives : Kalk Bay Municipal Minutes (23 July 1901). The shield was divided horizontally. The upper half was divided vertically, depicting a fishing boat (partly obscured by a small shield) and eight fleurs de lis, while the lower half depicted a bunch of grapes. A small shield displaying an arum lily was placed in the centre.

References

External links

* {{Cape Town, communities Suburbs of Cape Town Ports and harbours of South Africa

History

Coat of arms

See also

References

External links