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Gansbaai
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Gansbaai
Named after the wild geese in the area, Gansbaai is a quaint fishing village from where there are sweeping views of this rugged stretch of coast. Each year during the summer holiday season people from up-country flock to nearby villages from Franskraal to Pearly Beach as well as the holiday resort at Uilenskraalmond in order to enjoy the fine weather and wide open beaches where various activities take place, including angling, boating and safe bathing in the lagoon. A favourite amongst artists and photographers, the harbour at Gansbaai shelters a fleet of boats that fish in Walker Bay and along the Agulhas Bank. A fish-processing factory, its smoke billowing in season, adds to the colourful picture. Offshore at Kleinbaai, where there is a small vessel slip way, are two small islands. Dyer and Geyser Islands are inhabited by colonies of seals and penguins. Seals, being the favourite food of the Great White Shark, have attracted sharks to the locality in large numbers, hence the name given to the canal between the islets being named 'Shark Alley'. Visitors wishing to experience the closeness of these magnificent creatures may join cruises to the area and if brave enough partake in cage diving to witness sharks in their natural habitat. The area off Gansbaai is said to be one of the best worldwide spots for this activity. At De Kelders, where one gets a magnificent view of Walker Bay and whales wallowing close to shore during the calving season, there are a series of caves with a mineral spring. The mineral water which comes from the spring is said to have healing qualities and in times gone by people with various ailments are said to have traveled to De Kelders in search of a cure. It is a worthwhile 10 kilometre byway journey from Gansbaai to Danger Point. At the base of the powerful Danger Point lighthouse is the tablet commemorating the wreck of the Birkenhead. She struck a reef near Danger Point on 26th February 1852. The story of the heroism of the soldiers who stood in line under their officers while the women and children were helped into the boats is well known. The vessel broke apart almost immediately it struck, and 357 soldiers and 87 of the crew perished. Not a single women or child were lost. In 1989 divers commenced recovering artefacts from the sea bed here. The gravel motor road ends at the lighthouse gate from where a fisherman's path leads down to the coast. Here a blow-hole is linked with the sea by an underground chasm. Jets of water, sometimes 10 metres high, are forced through the blow-hole during rough seas. |
Photo: The Shark Lady 
Kleinbaai 
De Kelders Fynbos Overberg Business Directory |
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