Hangklip-Kleinmond coastal walks

Slowly but surely neighbour Steve and I have been walking sections of coast between Cape Hangklip and Bot River mouth, joining segments into a coastal necklace. This coast alternates between rocky capes and bays connected by kelp forests and long satin-sand beaches crossed by small rivers and streams. This post features three segments, from west to east:

• between Skuitbaai and Sea Farm,
• the length of Kleinmond town’s rocky shore from west of the harbour to the Klein River mouth, and
• From the Klein mouth almost to the Bot mouth.

All these scenic walks were there and back.

Between Skuitbaai and Sea Farm

One can make this walk as long as you like by continuing to Silversands beach. The rocky shore is strewn with Khoisan middens and ancient rock fish traps, if you know where and what to look for. In the early days of seafaring, Cape Hangklip, which was known as Cabo Falso (False Cape), was often mistaken for Cape Point (Cape of Good Hope). Homeward-bound ships would be trapped against a lee shore in False Bay and many a sailing ship has foundered on the rocky coast.

The name Sea Farm dates from William Walsh’s 1885 fishing enterprise. His Malaysian and Filipino fishermen were housed on the Holbaaipunt peninsula. Some old stone ruins of his huts and factory are still visible. Sea Farm is now a privately owned contract nature reserve. The path follows the perimeter of the reserve along the shore.

During World War II German U-boats targeted shipping off this coast. It was only a recent trip to the Naval Museum at Simon’s Town that I realised how many cargo ships were sunk during the war – of the order of hundreds. It seems that this number was a well-kept secret, even decades after the war. Consequently, South Africa’s Special Signals Services (SSS) established a network of top-secret radar stations in 1942. This was also the reason for the road from Gordon’s Bay to Betty’s Bay and Hangklip.

The Cape Hangklip Station, which monitored short-range sea traffic and surface submarines, was located halfway up Hangklip Mountain and was staffed by men. Their barracks are now the Hangklip Hotel. Women staffed the long-range radar stations at Silverstrand and Betty’s Bay. Their barracks are now part of the Brigadoon Village for dementia care.

Kleinmond town’s rocky shore

A well-maintained path from the western edge of Kleinmond to the Klein river mouth and back is about 7 km in length. It’s a pleasant walk and can be spectacular on stormy days. Break the walk with some refreshments at the restaurant on the Klein River mouth.

One could extend this walk by either starting at the Palmiet bridge or at the mouth of the Palmiet lagoon, known as Die Mond.

Klein River mouth to the Bot River mouth

We didn’t quite reach the Bot mouth this time as we were under a bit of time pressure. At low tide it is an easy barefoot walk along kilometres of silky sand. Our curtailed walk was almost 10 km in length, so you can work on about 13 km to the Bot River and back. Once more we were privileged to come across three horses from the Rooisand Nature Reserve’s wild horse herd. I have written about them here previously.