Betty’s Bay
The place takes its name from Betty Youlden, the daughter of one of the first developers of this area.
In the colonial era, Betty’s Bay was a favorite place for runaway slaves and from 1912 to 1930, Betty’s Bay became an official whale station, where you can still find some remains at Stoney Point. It is now impossible to imagine that 220 people were processing whales here, not to mention the number of Southern right whales that were killed here.
But today, Stoney point is mostly visited by people who come to take a look at the Jackass Penguins. Here you walk along a plank path along the sea and you can watch the penguins’ habits in a beautiful way and with a bit of luck a whale will just swim past. Come at the end of the day when the penguins have just returned from fishing.
Another attraction is the Harold Porter National Botanical Garden. A beautifully landscaped garden of native flowers and plants where you can walk in between. A garden where the mountains meet the sea and the fynbos are at their best! You can take a walk here with a guide or simply enjoy strolling around yourself. Or start a hike from here into the mountains! For the garden and the mountains money, keep a distance from the baboons and watch out for snakes. The botanical garden has a restaurant where you can have a light meal or enjoy a delicious cup of coffee.
Walking or mountain biking in the heart of the Fynbos kingdom, within the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve is a wonderful day and gives the possibility to see a large number of the 1600 different types of plants. More than 50 types of Erica’s, the native fynbos and of course the beautiful proteas are worth your attention. For a hike in the nature reserve you need to bring a permit, this is available at the office in the nature reserve. Take the Leopard’s Gorge trail or go from the botanical garden to the Disakloof waterfall. The latter is a 45-minute walk through a native forest with the reward of a beautiful view of the waterfall.
In the Silversand area you will find a number of fresh water lakes, you can fish here, but you can also spot beautiful birds and enjoy a picnic. Malkopsvlei or Bass Lake is unfortunately not recommended for swimming, but it is safe to swim at Rondevlei and Grootwitvlei.
On the Palmiet river you can go wild water rafting, tubing (in large car tires down) and also canoeing.
Betty’s Bay is located in the beautiful area where “whales play and wild flowers bloom”.
