Hout Bay Photos

Hout Bay

The small fishing and tourist town is picturesquely situated on the bay of the same name, which is surrounded by Chapman's Peak to the east and the Karbonkelkberg (653 m) and the smaller but more striking The Sentinel (331 m) to the west. The enchanting and strategically important location of the village was recognized by Europeans early on. Johan van Riebeeck named the wooded bay Houtbaaitjen (= Wood Bay) and arranged for the construction of a small road in 1662, and only a few years later the first farms in South Africa were permitted here.

The subsequent history of Hout Bay was varied: the French built three forts here in 1781, but were then ousted by the English, who in turn built fortifications, of which the remains of the East Battery at the southern end of the town (1 km along Chapman's Peak Drive) can still be seen today. In 1873, manganese deposits were discovered in the eastern Constantia Mountains, which were finally mined in the years before the First World War. By this time, however, the locals had already recognized the true potential of the area: fishing (lobster, pike) and the fishing industry.

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Hout Bay