Strand - Cape Town

The beach and the Waterfront at the Strand

To the west Gordon's Bay is the coastal town of the Strand . It forms part of the holiday resort area which starts at Gordon's Bay and stretches along the False Bay coastline towards Muizenberg. When one flies into Cape Town during the winter months it is normal to fly over this part of False Bay to land at Cape Town's International airport. The view from the plane of this stretch of coastline is awesome with the long white beaches with waves rolling onto them.

The coastline at the Strand is no different. At low tide the beaches extend for at least a hundred metres before one reaches the water. At high tide the beach becomes a lot smaller.

Towards Gordon's Bay a new harbour has been built which caters for small boats and yachts. This harbour is however also the entrance to the sea for people living in the marina which has been built there. The harbour boasts a slipway for launching boats, a number of restaurants and a hotel.

It's a bit like the V and A Waterfront in Cape Town except on a much smaller scale. The outside harbour wall runs parallel to the coastline and is very popular with fishermen who arrive there to catch whatever takes a fancy to their bait. Normally Kob, Steenbras and in the winter months some Galjoen as well.

The harbour is built along a very rocky stretch of coastline which is about three kilometres long and runs from Gordons Bay to the west. With the lovely beaches here the hotels and holidays flats have blossomed.

On the north side of the beach road are tall tower blocks of flats and accommodation for the holiday maker.

Surfers in this area have a field day when the tide is rising as there are plenty of waves to surfed on.

The south east wind whipping up the sea in False Bay

When the South east wind roars in from across the bay its time to pack up and go home. It flattens the waves and blasts you with sand and can be rather unpleasant.

Fishermen smile when this happens as they know that the moment the wind drops the fish come on the bite along this coastline. The Strand has a small shopping area close to the beach where there are banks, restaurants and various other shops to be explored. There is a small slipway near the parking area on the beach where fishermen land their boats and catches.

The jetty is very popular with the kids as they fish off it often landing a large fish or two. Closeby is a large indoor swimming pool where one can relax out of the wind when the weather is not so good. For those of you who don't like the wind, without it you would most probably die of the heat. Not only does it cool Cape Town down, it also blows all the smog, and other pollutants in the air out to sea. But for the Cape Doctor as the wind is called ,Cape Town would be like some of those polluted cities in the East.

As the whole Strand, Gordons Bay coastline is swamped by holiday makers over the Christmas school holidays which begin early in December and continue through to mid January when the Cape Schools go back, the best time for those with time on their hands to visit this area is after New Year when most of Cape Town's up country visitors leave.