Kommetjie (

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

for "small basin," approximately pronounced ''caw-me-key'') is a small town near

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, in the

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

province of South Africa. It lies about halfway down the west coast of the

Cape Peninsula The Cape Peninsula () of South Africa is a generally mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of Good ...

, at the southern end of the long wide beach that runs northwards towards Chapman's Peak and Noordhoek. The community of Ocean View is located to its immediate south east. It was founded in 1902 when a consortium of businessmen developed the area as a residential suburb of Cape Town. The town was modernised in the 1960s when electricity and municipal running water was installed. The area is a popular spot for

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

, since powerful waves from the Atlantic Ocean rise up over rocky reefs formed by hard sandstones of the Table Mountain Group. Wherever the bottom is rocky, the shallower waters are thick with giant

kelp Kelps are large brown algae or seaweeds that make up the order (biology), order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genus, genera. Despite its appearance and use of photosynthesis in chloroplasts, kelp is technically not a plant but a str ...

forests. Kommetjie is famous for its excellent crayfishing although changes in fishing quotas which have drastically reduced the daily catch allowed.

Geography

Kommetjie is situated on the narrow coastal plain below the mountains, on the western side of the southern Cape Peninsula, beside the Atlantic Ocean which has cold currents in this region, and is exposed to the prevailing south westerly swell from the Southern Ocean. The

Slangkop Lighthouse Slangkop Lighthouse is a lighthouse near the town of Kommetjie, near Cape Town, South Africa. History Construction was due to be completed in 1914 and a brass sign was commissioned for this date, but due to the First World War the lighthouse ...

, which stands about 33 meters tall, is situated on the beach. The lighthouse can be seen from the mountain pass "

Ou Kaapse Weg Ou Kaapse Weg (Afrikaans for ''Old Cape Way''), numbered as route M64, is a mountain pass in the Cape Peninsula that connects the Southern Suburbs, Cape Town, Southern Suburbs of Cape Town with the Fish Hoek Valley. It traverses the Steenberg M ...

" and has been around since 1919.

Sport and recreation

The Cape Town Cycle Tour each year passes through this small town. The southwesterly swell produces attractive waves for surfing on the local coastal reefs, and the area is popular for crayfish and fishing as there is a beach launching area for small craft. It is a quiet and relaxing town suitable for camping and getaways. Not far from Kommetjie, along Long Beach near Noordhoek, lies The Kakapo shipwreck, which ran aground in 1900. When locals aren’t surfing, they are skateboarding

Local Business

Kommetjie supports a small number of small enterprises, including a Shell garage (including a Shell Select), a convenience store, a laundromat, a small mail-order computer business, a café, and a variety of restaurants. A farm stall located on the grounds of Kommetjie Primary School sells organic produce grown in a market garden on the school grounds.

Fauna and Flora

Kommetjie hosts a variety of plant and animal species, many of which are

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

. Kommetjie is especially well known for its Milkwood groves,

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...

and baboon troops, which frequently come down from their home on the nearby hills to raid for food among the residences. Kommetjie is also part of the

fynbos Fynbos (; , ) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. The area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate. The fynbos ...

biome, which boasts the highest number of plant species per square kilometre. Some of the rarest and most sought after plants are found in this biome, but face threat from a variety of aliens, mostly Australian plants, imported in the 1800s.

Notable residents

* Chris Bertish (1974), surfer and motivational speaker * Jeremy Loops (1984), singer-songwriter * Alice Phoebe Lou (1993), singer-songwriter

References

External links

*
Official Community WebsiteKommetjie Weather Station
{{Cape Town, communities Suburbs of Cape Town Surfing locations in South Africa