Noordhoek is a seaside town in the

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, located below Chapman's Peak on the west coast of the

Cape Peninsula The Cape Peninsula () of South Africa is a generally mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of Good ...

and is approximately to the south of

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. The name "Noordhoek" was taken from Dutch and literally means "north corner". It was given this name in 1743 as being the northern corner of the Slangkop farm. The first permanent resident of European origin is Jaco Malan who built his house there. In 1857, the region was divided into six plots, most of which were bought by a single family, that of the de Villiers. Noordhoek nevertheless remains a predominantly rural area where farmers grow vegetables to supply ships calling at Simon's Town. It is best known for its shoreline and its long, wide, sandy beach, which stretches south to the neighbouring village of

Kommetjie Kommetjie (Afrikaans for "small basin," approximately pronounced ''caw-me-key'') is a small town near Cape Town, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It lies about halfway down the west coast of the Cape Peninsula, at the southern end o ...

. Near the southern end of this beach is the wreck of the steamship "Kakapo", which ran aground in 1900, when the captain mistook Chapman's Peak for the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

and put the helm over to port. Noordhoek can be accessed either from the scenic coastal road Chapman's Peak Drive, which leads out of Hout Bay or via the mountain road

Ou Kaapse Weg Ou Kaapse Weg (Afrikaans for ''Old Cape Way''), numbered as route M64, is a mountain pass in the Cape Peninsula that connects the Southern Suburbs, Cape Town, Southern Suburbs of Cape Town with the Fish Hoek Valley. It traverses the Steenberg M ...

which cuts through the Silvermine Nature Reserve - now part of the

Table Mountain National Park Table Mountain National Park, previously known as the Cape Peninsula National Park, is a national park in Cape Town, South Africa, proclaimed on 29 May 1998, for the purpose of protecting the natural environment of the Table Mountain chain, and ...

. Noordhoek is a small scattered community of houses, often with sea views and has a large horse population as riding on the long sandy beach is common; the beach is a stretch of fine white sand backed by Chapman's Peak () and the

. Winds are often strong and the sea is cold and wild. The town consists of a riding stables and a scattering of villas in a wide grassy valley with oak trees. In the middle of this valley is the Noordhoek Farm Village, with craft shops, a children's playground, café, pub and restaurant.

Transport

Roads

Noordhoek is accessed by two metropolitan routes within the Greater Cape Town metropolitan area, the M6 and M65. The M6 links Noordhoek to Hout Bay and

in the north as ‘Noordhoek Main Road’ and Simon’s Town in the south-east as ‘Glencairn Expressway’ and the M64, better known as ‘

’ links Noordhoek to Westlake and Cape Town (via the M3 freeway) through the Steenberg mountains.

Gallery

Noordhoek beach jan2005.jpg, Looking north along the beach. The slopes of Chapman's Peak rise to the right at the end of the sand. The peak in the distance is Karbonkelberg, west of Hout Bay Noordhoek Sunset.JPG, An evening flight over Noordhoek Beach, with

in the distance.

References

External links

* * {{Cape Town, communities Suburbs of Cape Town Surfing locations in South Africa