Ask any seasoned Arniston “chuckie” boat captain (the old diesel engines make a chuck-chuck sound) what condition he’d least want to face in his fishing boat and the answer you’ll probably hear is, “being near the Bulldog in a strong southwesterly wind”. It’s the last stretch of underwater rocks in the shipwrecking Saxon Reef off Struispunt that can give rise to freak waves, which apparently “roar like a bulldog” (as described in Marius Diemont’s book The Arniston (1815-2015) — A Village Remembers) and can easily capsize small vessels.
Though numerous ships had been wrecked on these three reefs by the time the Queen of the Thames ran into the most northerly one at Skipskop in 1871, it was apparently the loss of this state-of-the-art vessel, one of 15 in a 20-year period, that finally caused the authorities to erect a warning beacon just south of Otto Bay on Struispunt.
Clearly the ships’ owners had some clout with the local British authorities because, while a few of the crew’s lives were lost, there were earlier and more tragic shipwrecks that should have caused the authorities to act sooner. Besides, all the Queen of the Thames’s passengers and most of their possessions were carried to land safely.
Annette and I are staying in one of Kassiesbaai’s old cottages, the authentic fishing village just north of the hotel. It has been declared a Grade 1 National Heritage Site, which is also protected by a number of community initiatives and local authorities, in the centre of which seems to be the local Fishermen’s Union established in the 1930s.
The fishing settlement got its name from the first houses that were built there using paraffin kassies (crates) found on the beaches; these formed the core of their building material, on top of which they plied a clay plaster. Other early residents used reed frameworks, but it wasn’t until a Scottish crofter, George Fairchild, and his wife (survivors from a shipwreck in 1869) built their own house from local limestone, that other Kassiesbaaiers followed suit.
At dusk on our first day there, we warm ourselves next to the braai fire in our dedicated seaside guest lapa, taking in the grey mass of roiling clouds coming in from the east on the back of the feared black southeaster. But this brooding mass is beautifully tempered by the setting sun’s rays highlighting the aquamarine seas coursing beneath it.
It reminds us how fickle the weather can be on this coastline; and why, apart from the apparent lack of fish these days, the 7m-long “chuckies” go out only in favourable weather.
We chat to fisherman Justin Swart en route to the beach just north of Kassiesbaai. Like Marthinus, Newman and Murtz, Swart is a well-known surname in the community. Justin tells us he’s off to fish for elf, galjoen and cob on the other side of Roman Beach, known as Oubaai in the old days when his forefathers first settled there. This was before the present 10 morgen (about 8.5ha) Kassiesbaai site was reluctantly sold for one shilling to the fishing community by the Pratt brothers, after a Supreme Court ruling in 1906.
Kassiesbaai also managed to survive the proposed ousting of its coloured fishing community in accordance with the 1950s Group Areas Act. It was largely the result of campaigning against such forced removal by the mid-1970s’ Preserve Arniston/Bewaar Waenhuiskrans committee that this legally required exodus was stopped and Kassiesbaai survived intact.
Our walk along the beach in the direction of the site where the Arniston, the 1,498-tonne British East Indiaman wrecked about 2km northeast of us, turns up no remnants of that tragic night of May 30 in 1815. Though there were earlier wrecks in the region, it seems the Arniston lodged in the locals’ psyche as a nearby young farmer, Jan Swart, discovered the beach full of corpses (372 people died) and supplies soon after the event, an unusually macabre scene that he would surely have described in vivid detail to many others.
What strikes us most on our walk back to town via the rocky coastline to the slipway, is the variety of rock shapes and platforms we see; predominantly eroded from the more friable Table Mountain sandstone. From jagged, to smooth algae covered causeways, myriad rock pools and pockmarked overhangs, we take in the enchanting exhibition of geological artworks, displayed against white dunes, eroded embankments and turquoise seas.
These unique scenes remind me how good the late landscape artist Alice Goldin was in capturing the one-of-a-kind putty-rock colours and variable blue-green seas of her beach hometown; something she achieved with the almost 3D perspective derived from multilayering the watercolours she used.
Unaware of us, Nico Marthinus circles his “chuckie”, Nicolene, on the slipway. His rapt expression and content mien reflects a father’s admiration for a beloved child. After we introduce ourselves we learn he has a twin sister, Jolene, and that their father conjoined their names when he christened his beloved boat after taking ownership back in the 1970s.
Nico tells us he’s not going out today as “the sea is still too unsettled and murky from last night’s black southeaster; but I think the new moon will bring calm tomorrow”.
We make our way past a helicopter on the manicured lawns in front of the four-star Arniston Spa Hotel. Enjoying an excellent fullhouse breakfast on its umbrella-shaded patio, we feel the stark contrast of this first-world experience with the olde-worlde ambience of Kassiesbaai. Ironically, though, it’s partly jobs offered in this hotel, and the tourists it accommodates, that help keep the once self-sufficient fishing community alive.
Travel Notes
Getting there: Arniston is 210km from Cape Town. It’s reached by travelling through Bredasdorp (accessed from the N2 via the Caledon R316 or the R319 outside Swellendam).
What to do there: The village is blessed with so much natural beauty that one is tempted just to amble about and take it all in from one of the many benches, cliffs or beaches. But other activities include walking to the huge cave (Waenhuiskrans) south of Roman Beach at low tide, or, for the even more energetic, extend your hike to the beacon on Struispunt; enjoy traditional dishes at Willeen’s restaurant on the northern edge of Kassiesbaai; take in the ancient Khoekhoen fish traps just south of Otto Bay at low tide; go on a day drive to De Mond Nature Reserve, have a picnic there or just amble along its pristine beaches; continue on to Cape Agulhas and visit the continent’s southernmost point; have a drink and a good meal on the patio of the Arniston Spa Hotel; swim at Roman Beach; walk through Kassiesbaai; visit the Shipwreck Museum in Bredasdorp; and go fishing.
Where we stayed: Kassiesbaai Cottage — call Eve Marthinus on 082 905 5060.
Suggested further reading: *The Arniston (1815-2015) — A Village Remembers by Marius Diemont. Available from the Arniston Community Development Trust.
Other information portals on Arniston: www.arnistonalive.org.za
Best time of year to go: All year round, but March to October is my favourite time there.
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