My Fish Hoek - CLOSED in Fish Hoek, Cape Town, South Africa | Tourism

CLOSED
My Fish Hoek is a site covering Fish Hoek and surroundings, including areas up to Simonstown and Muizenberg, as well as activities and events affecting the town and also the valley.
The village of Fish Hoek was established in 1918. Prior to that the beach was being used for fishing and whaling and people were living in the area on an informal basis. The early settlers soon discovered that False Bay was teeming with fish and there has been trek fishing from Fish Hoek beach ever since, trek being a Dutch word meaning pull, which refers to their method of fishing. A long net is laid which is then pulled in from the beach, the catch being mainly harders and yellowtail. Nowadays fish stocks are much reduced and the fishermen struggle to make a living. A small whaling business operated from Fish Hoek until it went bankrupt in 1863. There was only one boat, with a fisherman standing in the bow with a hand held harpoon. We are now part of a whale sanctuary and from August to December whales can be seen close inshore.
In 1818 a grant of land was given for a farm in Fish Hoek The farm passed through many hands before being bought by Hester De Kock in1883. Late in life she married a local farmer, Izaak De Villiers, who came to live at the Fish Hoek farm with her. Although she farmed wheat and vegetables she started providing accommodation for people who wanted to stay in Fish Hoek and so became the first local tourist entrepreneur .Having realized that Fish Hoek was becoming popular she left instructions in her will that the farm was to be surveyed and the land sold as building plots. Initially people built holiday cottages but soon a more permanent community arose and by 1940 it was big enough to be declared a Municipality and was administered by the Town Council until 1994. Fish Hoek is now part of the City of Cape Town.
Fish Hoek plays host to various events, including The Argus Cycle Tour and The Two Oceans Marathon. Besides the mountain activities, we also have plenty of water sporting events and competitions including The Annual Mile Swim and sailing.