Bay of the Sleeping Beauty
Somewhere along the N2, approximately 350 km from Cape Town, you will find a blue, green and white fishing boat stranded amidst waving fields of whispering grass.
This is where you must turn south if you’re keen to discover Stilbaai, without a question one of South Africa’s favourite coastal dorps. Situated an easy 15 min off the N2, you can expect Stilbaai to be pretty quiet outside of the holiday season.
Come Christmas time, the day-to-day population of 6 000 may increase by up to 25 000 people as holidaymakers descend on the village spread along the banks of the Goukou River.
Tranquil Destination
It is easy to see why, as endless beaches, a tranquil bay blessed with aqua adventure options, an aquamarine estuary and a benign climate combine to shape one of the Southern Cape’s loveliest dorps. Despite its popularity, Stilbaai remains an unpolluted and largely crime-free eco-destination where nature seems to take precedence over urban development.
The inhabitants are predominantly Afrikaans and the architecture reflects pragmatism rather than aesthetics, although some of the original holiday shacks in the Strandveld vernacular style add character to the older part of town. Balmy, wind, still and sunny weather for most of the year ticks another box if you’re in search of a Top 10-holiday destination on the South African coast.
Did You Know?
The ‘viswywers’, or fish traps, at Bosbokduin dates back to ancient times when Khoi people gathered seafood along this section of the southern Cape coast. Some of the shell middens have been carbon-dated to 1000 BC, while Blombos Cave has been identified as the oldest known human settlement in the world.