Struisbaai ( ) is a coastal town in the

Overberg __NOTOC__ Overberg is a region in South Africa to the east of Cape Town beyond the Hottentots-Holland mountains. It lies along the Western Cape Province's south coast between the Cape Peninsula and the region known as the Garden Route in the e ...

region of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

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. The town is in the

Cape Agulhas Local Municipality Cape Agulhas Municipality () is a municipality located in the Western Cape province of South Africa. , it had a population of 33,038. Its municipality code is WC033. It is named after Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of Africa. The largest tow ...

in the Overberg District, about two hundred kilometres south east of

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 ...

, and four kilometres from

Cape Agulhas Cape Agulhas (; , "Cape of Needles") is a rocky headland in Western Cape, South Africa. It is the geographic southern tip of Africa and the beginning of the traditional dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian oceans according to the In ...

, which is the southernmost point of the African continent. The town is an old fishing village which for many years sported a beautiful natural harbour. Some development has taken place since then but Struisbaai is still relatively untouched by the rigours of over-development. Many fishermen still reside in this settlement but it is now known better for its leisure activities, which include fishing, horseriding, hiking, paintball, quadbiking and diving.

History

The exact origins of the name of Struisbaai is uncertain. The various historical stories uncover 3 different origins for the name of the town. The first being accredited to the thatch or straw (strooi in Afrikaans) roofs of the fisherman cottages scattered along the coast. Another is the ostriches ("struisvogel" in Dutch) that used to call this area their home, while others believe the name was derived from an old Dutch word meaning "huge" given due to the long stretches of beach. The last origin seems more plausible as Struisbaai holds the longest beach in the Southern Hemisphere which stretches for a total of 14 kilometres. Struisbaai also hosts the annual Geelstertfees ( Yellowtail festival) which revolves around foodstalls, artists and musical performers. Othe
Top Attractions
in the town include the colourful, bustling Struisbaai Harbour where visitors can see the traditional fisherman bring in their daily catch and buy fresh fish. Also not to be missed, is the resident stingray Parrie making an appearance. The waters off Struisbaai have traditionally been treacherous for shipping, with at least 30 vessels that have run aground since 1673. One of them was the Meermin that stranded in 1766 after a mutiny by the Malagasy slaves that she was carrying, while another was the French ship Jardinière which sank 28 years later. Prior to apartheid, Struisbaai was racially mixed. After the passing of the Group Areas Act, the apartheid government began evicting colored residents and demolishing their homes. Families were promised R48,000 compensation but only ever received half. Some families were put in houses in Rondomskrik, today known as Struisbaai Noord. Other families were forced to live in shacks with dozens of people occupying the same quarters. Colored fishermen who had previously lived near the harbor were forced to walk over three kilometers to their boats and were restricted from being in the white part of town after 6:00 PM. The legacy of apartheid remains visible today with the Struisbaai Noord remaining largely colored while the main part of town near the harbor is predominantly white.

History

Climate

References

External links