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- Camps Bay
Camps Bay, Cape Town, Western Cape
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Camps Bay is an affluent suburb in Cape Town and a premier tourist destination attracting a large number of foreign visitors, as well as South Africans, in summer, looking for a beach holiday.
Camps Bay is renowned for its magnificent location on the Atlantic Ocean, it lies just beyond the four Clifton Beaches in an exceptionally beautiful setting at the foot of the Twelve Apostles mountain range, adjacent to Lion’s Head, on the other side of Table Mountain. Camps Bay beachfront is a long stretch of beautiful white sandy beaches fringed by palm trees, a boulevard of pavement bistros, cafes and restaurants specializing in Mediterranean cuisine and a trendy nightlife.
This is one of the most vibrant and popular suburbs of Cape Town, busy all day and especially at night when Cape Town’s trendiest residents and visitors come out looking for fun. Camps Bay is the place to see and be seen!
Another reason Camps Bay is the preferred choice for visitors is its central location close to the V&A Waterfront, Table Mountain Cable Car as well as the city centre with bohemian Long Street and many museums and other attractions. Returning time and time again to this much sought-after suburb where homes fetch a few million with ease has become the normal practice for many visitors.
Camps Bay offers a huge variety of hotels, guest houses, B&B’ and, exclusive beach apartments and self-catering accommodation.
Places to Visit
Things to do and see
- Camps Bay Beach
- Glen Beach
- Porcupine Ravine
- Tranquility Crack Hike
- Camps Bay Pipe Track Walk
- Diagonal Route up Table Mountain
- Grootkop Walk
- Lion’s Head Hike
- Platteklip Gorge Hike
- Cape Peninsula Loop
- The Rotunda
- Theatre on the Bay
Climate
Camps Bay receives approximately 759 mm of rain annually with the most of its’ rainfall occurring during the winter months.
Summer months, November to March will have average temperatures of between 16˚C and 26˚C.
Winter months, May to August will have average temperatures of between 9˚C and 18˚C.
Transport
There are daily flights into Cape Town International Airport, 25 km away via the N2. Car hire facilities, Uber and metered taxis are available at the Airport.
History
Before the arrival of the Dutch in 1652, Camps Bay residents were the San and Khoi people and the mountains surrounding the beautiful Camps Bay, known as the Twelve Apostles, were covered in forests with lions, leopards and antelope as the only residents.
The new Settlers brought measles and small pox with them which decimated the Khoi tribes and later their reduced numbers were restricted to the area now known as Oudekraal which is on the way to Hout Bay.
John Lodewyk Wernich, who the land was granted to, built a farm called Ravensteyn. After his passing, his Widow remarried a Sailor called Frederik von Kamptz and once he was settled on the farm, the area became known as “Die Baai van von Kramptz”, translated in English to Camps Bay.
Through the 19th century the area remained undeveloped and was the hunting ground of Lord Charles Somerset, the then Governor of the Cape. The Roundhouse, in the Glen area which still stands today and is a well recommended restaurant, was his hunting lodge.
In 1913, Camps Bay was incorporated into the city of Cape Town.