Local Destination - Kalk Bay
I
f you have lived in the Cape you will know that the craggy coast and boast about the whales he
each area is defined not only by its geography, spots from the carriage windows. The leviathans are
but also by a very particular style of living and common sights between June and October.
fiercely independent character. Now my friend is also a jazz musician, which means
For a start, you have two coasts – the ritzy, sun-burnt he felt at home in Kalk Bay where bohemian chic is
Atlantic side, and the other sleepy False Bay Coast – the stock in trade – and which is one of the reasons
and although only 45 km apart, they can seem quite for the village’s resurgence.
literally to be on opposite sides of the planet. Without doubt Kalk Bay also has a splendid visual
Because of these peculiarities, the False Bay coast – aspect, sandwiched as it is between a spine of
which runs in a glorious sweep from Muizenberg south fynbos-clad mountain and the vast blue ocean
to Cape Point – fell from a period of fabled holiday which shimmers in the midday sun. This gorgeous
grace into somewhat faded glory by the late 20
th
vista is something the bohemians had to themselves
century. Its string of holiday villages such as Kalk Bay, for too long a time.
mere forgotten versions of their former selves. The town’s revival is not only due to the lunch-time
So when a friend of mine left the bright lights of set’s rediscovery of it as the go-to place on weekends,
Sea Point and headed for retro Kalk Bay, it appeared but also to the establishment of the Cape Point Route,
to me he was moving to another dimension, which inspiring travellers to lodge on the False Bay coast and
in a sense he was. For he was relocating to a place go into the city for a visit rather than the other way
inhabited by eccentric antique shop-owners, round. With a result, a number of turn-of-the-century
upwardly mobile hippies and uber-trendy types who seaside manors are being refurbished into chic
trip between coffee bars and art shops in a space boutique hideaways (such as the Last Word’s The St
where authenticity is afforded by fisher-folk who James, which has a glorious view out to sea).
have lived here for generations. But while it has retained its bohemian flavour –
He reckoned that whenever he needed to “come with its myriad bric-a-brac and antique stores, an
to town,” he would take the train which winds along avant garde ice cream store and a nursery selling
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