The Earliest and Later Water Activities in Cape Town
No one really knows precisely what took place during bygone millennia in and around the area that was eventually to become the City of Cape Town and a paradise for all types of modern water activities. Some of the early (or earliest) human inhabitants included the San and the Khoi people, who undoubtedly made use of whatever they could fish and forage from the oceans, rocks, and beaches along the lengthy Cape coastline – quite possibly the earliest Cape water activities. To this day, fishing here is still a favourite water activity.
Archaeologists and anthropologists have come upon ancient shell middens, evidence that these ancient people roamed the beaches of the Cape in the search for edible shelled sea species. These early beach nomads were called “strandlopers” (beach walkers) by the original Dutch settlers, who arrived here in the company of Jan van Riebeeck in 1652.
Last Strandloper’s Water Activities
One of the last known Khoi strandlopers, a woman known as Bientang, was said to have often sheltered in a cave, formed by an enormous rock overhanging the large hollow beneath it, in what is now the Overberg town of Hermanus. The cave has a relatively flat rocky floor that extends to similarly flat rocks that culminate in the sea – the perfect place for Bientang to collect her meals of molluscs and fish – the bounty of the ocean.
Bientang cultivated her own vegetables and herbs, whilst fresh water flowed (and still flows) adjacent to her cave. One day, she vanished; no one knows where or why, but she was never seen again. Nonetheless, Bientang’s spirit and water-based activities still live on in and around her cave.
A restaurant that bears her name was established here in 1991, focusing largely on freshly-caught seafood. Decks and modern conveniences have been added to accommodate diners and whale watchers in comfort. This is a bonus because Hermanus is the whale watching capital of the Overberg area – one of the Cape’s prime water activities.
Cruising off the Cape Coastline
At Tigger 2 in Cape Town, we’re proud to present our own, modern water activity, which we delight in sharing with our clients – passengers on our luxury charter boat cruises, available on private and non-private basis, for various occasions or simply for the joy, beauty, and fun of this pleasurable and memorable experience. Our vessel, the state-of-the-art, sleek Tigger 2 Royale, is our flagship and pride and joy.
A cruise aboard the Tigger 2 Royale is the perfect way to view and appreciate the Cape coastline, the towering mountains beyond, and the essence of the ocean in a completely novel way. Cape Town is synonymous with all types of water activities, but a Tigger 2 cruise should be a must.
