Gansbaai and De Kelders

Gansbaai - Activities And The Town

For a long time people have overlooked Gansbaai for what it is. This is a truly stunning little town and it has many activities and sights to offer! You have not really experienced the South African coastal areas without stopping over in Gansbaai and enjoying the surroundings. We are blessed with Stunning Mountains, Beautiful beaches, Flat and calm seas in the summer, The best land based Whale watching in the world, Historic Caves, Amazing wildlife, Kilometres of coastal walks and we are surrounded by one of the Floral Kingdoms of the world (Fynbos).
Gansbaai is the well known Capital of The Great White Shark in the world and there are a couple of fantastic small areas leading onto the main town. The first is De Kelders which is Whale watchers paradise and this is where The Roundhouse Guesthouse is. The other is Kleinbaai white is the small harbour area from where the Shark diving boats launch.

De Kelders has a wonderful seafront coffee shop and restaurant on the water’s edge where you can sit back on the balcony with a cappuccino enjoying the Whales frolic close by. Close to the Roundhouse there is a bakery selling the necessities such as freshly baked bread to milk, soft drinks, chocolates and ice creams. 
De Kelders is a secret gem and is now only just recently becoming known worldwide for its excellent land based Whale Watching. De Kelders boasts a large population of Whales along it’s coastline from July to December. This is on the opposite side of the bay from Hermanus and we find generally many more Whales than Hermanus lying alongside our cliff edges. This coastline has stunning sunsets all year round and is facing with it’s back to the wind in the summer months meaning that the water is very flat on this side of the bay. On good visibility days you can enjoy unspoiled stunning views towards Cape Town and can even spot Cape Point on the horizon on a clear day. Hermanus is known worldwide for its beauty and its Whales but as many are realising but De Kelders is quite a unique natural gem. This will never be able to compete with the mass tourism that is attracted to Hermanus but it is a very special place for many. De Kelders is a small district with only a bakery and pub (Close to Gansbaai town) but many are starting to visit this side of the bay to get away from the hustle and bustle to enjoy the quiet and inspiring coastline.

In Gansbaai which is only a twenty minute walk or two minute drive away you will find many shops and restaurants. You can buy anything from clothing to cameras and general groceries and is good for the necessities when you are visiting. Petrol stations are in abundance and so are ATMs, food and liquor stores. In season many tourists come to De Kelders and Gansbaai to do Whale watching as well as shark diving and we are delighted to say that Gansbaai has an excellent range of shops. Gansbaai harbour is full of life with its population of commercial fishing boats and hoards of visitors to the area fishing the rich waters. Gansbaai harbour boasts a large fish factory which processes fish oil, fish flower (for cattle feed) and canned pilchards, unfortunately the factory produces a quite rotten smell when in full production but as the locals say "It's the smell of money!"