Helderberg Info

The Helderberg Basin is the valley at the foot of the Helderberg Mountains surrounded by the coast line of False Bay 40 km from Cape Town, South Africa.

The Helderberg Basin is also known to some as The Helderberg. The Helderberg comes from the Dutch and means clear mountain. The Helderberg Basin consists of the towns Somerset West, Sir Lowry’s Pass Village and Gordon’s Bay.

The Helderberg is one of the most prestigious and most beautiful areas of the Western Cape. It is surrounded by the Hottentots Holland Mountain Range and False Bay.

False Bay is warm and shetered which makes the beaches in the Helderberg very popular amongst locals and tourists. The stunning beaches along the Strand and Gordon’s Bay are fantastic for swimming, surfing, kayaking and angling. There are two small harbours in Gordon's Bay, the "Old" harbour is home to the SA Navy and NSRI and the "New Harbour" which was built for the exculsive Harbour Island Development in the early 90's. Harbour Island has a hotel, pubs and restruants which are very popular.

False Bay, is between Cape Point and Hangklip. In the evening the light from the light house at Cape Point can be seen from Gordon's Bay and The Strand. The warm waters of False Bay attract many marine animals and fish along the coast. Game Fish such as Yellow Tail, Tuna, Cape Cob and many more are targeted by anglers. There are many dolphins, cape fur seals, and the Southern Right Whale which can be seen breaching and playing below the cliffs along Gordon’s Bay to Hermanus.

There have been many documentaries made about the Great White sharks in False Bay around Seal Island which is located in the middle of False Bay. Unfortunetly Great White Sharks in False Bay have made a number of attacks on bathers and surfers. So always be on the look out for flags and only swim where there are life gaurds on duty.

The Helderberg Basin is also rich in fauna and flora and consists of natural beauty and the floral diversity is to be recognized as perhaps the world's greatest biodiversity hot-spot. The Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve a 100 000 hectare reserve consisting of to the most complex biodiversity on our planet! We have some 1880 different plant species. The next richest is the South American rainforest with just 420 species per 10000 square km! The Helderberg Nature Reserve is located in Somerset West and is also home to a large variety of funa and flora as well as a hiking trails up the Helderberg.

The Helderberg is rich in heritage and is well known for the world’s finest vineyards that stretch along the foothills of the Helderberg Mountains, meeting up with the bordering vineyards of Stellenbosch. The historical farms Vergelegen and Lourensford are located in Somerset West.

Golfers love The Helderberg Basin as the Helderberg is home to some of the most prestigious Golf Courses in Africa.

All this make the Helderberg a truly unique place to live and to visit. I hope you will find the Helderberg’s official Blog of interest and look forward to your continued contributions to add value to the people of the Helderberg Basin.

Activities and Things To Do in Somerset West, Strand and Gordon's Bay:

Horse Riding, Hiking, Picnics, Beaches, Surfing, Kite Surfing, Kayaking, Scuba Diving, Fishing, Quad Biking, Cycling, 4X4, Camping, Golf, Wine Tasting, Water Ski, Movies, Bowling, Shopping, Paint Ball, Laser Shooting, Day Drives and much more...

See links or search The Helderberg Blog for more information. Please send in your views, news or coments.