Africa's south coast is famous for shipwrecks, so much so that the bay of Arniston was never the original name of the bay until after the famous shipwreck in 1815, when an East Indiaman requisitioned to bring back wounded soldiers from what was then known as Ceylon. The ship went down off the Cape Agulhas with the lost of all but six of her 378 passengers and crew.
Leaving Cape Town as you head into Arniston*, there are the rolling farmlands, mainly wheat and merino sheep, with the occasional ostrich farm. Arniston is a combination of man vs nature and wealth and the working class.
The village of Kassiebaai which sits proudly atop the cliffs, is a collection of whitewashed and thatched fisherman's cottages which sit proudly atop the cliffs, surrounded by white dunes. The village took its name from the wooden boxes and crates which were washed ashore after shipwrecks and then used as building materials.
In addition the timber from the shipwrecks, which weren't easy to come by in these parts, were the Porcelain and glassware that were also washed ashore along with other household items such as kitchenware. Also, many of the surviving sailors settled here, mingling with the locals and bringing in new skills such as carpentry and masonry.
The architecture is little changed, even today, and Kassiesbaai has been declared a national monument. Some local fishing families still live here, but there are also plenty of art galleries, for tourist and the wealthy residents of Cape Town who have made it one of their favourite getaway spots.
Another draw for those from the big city and its more cosmopolitan beach resorts is the long, and usually deserted sand beach of the nearby Struisbaai, with its 19th century fishing village. A real attraction here is the lighthouse on the tip of the Cape, built in 1848.
The lighthouse is fully functional and from the top of its tower you can see where the waters of the Indian Oceans and the Atlantic literally meet. If you are lucky, between May and November you may even catch a glimpse of southern right whales heading for the warmer waters off Arniston and the De Hoop Nature Reserve.
Nature lovers can observe the tenacity of the plants given the windswept nature of their habitat along this rough coastline, among them is the Cape's fynbos plants (Afrikaans for fine bush), low-lying plants, which includes rare species.
Like the plants so are the people who live is this region. Historically, fishermen were drawn to the waters offshore by some of the best fishing grounds in South Africa. The Agullhas Banks lies less than 100 metres down and stretches more than 250 kilometres out to sea before dropping steeply to the ocean's depths.
The Portuguese sailors who where the first to round the Cape in the 15th century soon came to fear it, due to the rocky outcrops among the shallow sandy banks which earned it the name "point of Needles". An alternative explanation for the name is that, as these pioneer navigators rounded the Cape, the needle of their compasses pointed due north, with no deviation whatsoever.
This is according the Shipwreck Museum in Bredasdorp, a town a short drive inland from Arniston. The museum as been established some 30 years, and sits on the site of a former church and its rectory. It has recorded some 130 shipwrecks off the Cape, between well named Danger Point near Gansbaai, to the northwest and Witsand, at the mouth of the Breede River, to the east. Other estimate put the figures much higher at 250, another name for this treacherous stretch of coast was "The Graveyard of Ships".
If you have time why not visit the De Hoop Nature Reserve; often called the "Jewel of the Western Cape", the reserve covers 36,000 hectares, while the marine reserve, created in 1986, where fishing is banned extends a further there nautical miles out to sea.
Known to have been inhabited since the Stone Age, the reserve has game lodges from which you can go on safaris to look for Cape Mountain zebras and one of the rarer antelopes, the Bonebok. It is also a popular spot for whale watching. otherwise, you can wonder through the fynbos along clearly marked trails, while admiring this rare vegetation of extraordinary diversity. The floral displays red, orange and yellow colours is at its best here in the spring, which is from August to mid-October, birdlife is also exceptional.
By now you must be asking where can I stay? Arniston area has many guest houses (dehoopcollection.za) along with the Arniston Spa Hotel (arnistonhotel.com), some catered and some self catering.
*The only way to reach the Cape is by road; it is roughly a two-and-a-half to three-hour drive from Cape Town.