About Kalk Bay

‘This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. The Kalk Bay in this book, though created out of the ether of a real town with a railway at the edge of the sea, is a town of fable’ – THE GOOD CEMETERY GUIDE

The real Kalk Bay retains the picturesque atmosphere of a fisherman’s village with a working fishing harbour. Weather permitting, scores of tiny fishing boats set off each day before dawn.

National Geographic August 2007, Mexico’s Pilgrim Cowboys, Alexandra Fuller

Every Saturday morning the Kalk Bay Fish Market opens to the public, selling whatever the sea has provided the night before; fish that go by names like snoek and yellowtail and red stumpnose are gutted and filleted by the wives of fishermen with nimble experienced fingers and sharp hand-made blades.

The railway station where Anthony Loxton pondered his options in THE GOOd CEMETERY GUIDE is a real railway station which stands on the edge of the Indian ocean and is very much in use. If you stand on the Kalk Bay platform and look to the left you can see the false bay coastline all the way to Muizenberg where shark monitors are posted on a hill to warn swimmers if a curious white shark comes in too close, and if you look over to the right you can see Simonstown, a picturesque historical village that is home to a naval base and Boulders Beach where you can swim alongside African penguins.

‘Miss Sophia and Miss Tina. Miss Tina known by reputation and occasional salutation. Miss Sophia known better only by virtue of the telephone arrangements pertaining to the Fisherman’s Burial Fund. He has seen them often in the egg-yellow Volkswagen Beetle descending from the mansion on the mountain, hurtling down at breakneck speed, coming to a bone-scrunching screeching halt at the traffic lights facing the blue ocean.’ – THE GOOD CEMETERY GUIDESave

The Fishermen flats

The original fishermen flats where Grethe Marais and her family and friends live in THE GOOD CEMETERY GUIDE have been converted into modern apartment blocks where some of the descendants of the fisherfolk of Kalk Bay now live.

The Fisherman’s cottage

The single remaining original fisherman’s cottage is easily identified with its red tiled roof and lime-washed walls gleaming white in the hot sun.

Visiting Kalk Bay

Holiday-makers and tourists can now take scheduled trips out to sea on a fisherboat and partake of exotic foods such as malay spiced fish curry cooked by local women.

For visitors B&B accommodation with hilltop views of a clear turquoise sea is easy to find. Amongst many good restaurants you will also find an unpretentious eatery called Olympia Café which is known far and wide across the four corners of the globe for the quality of its fare which includes excellent coffee, daily fresh seafood and warm fresh-from-the-oven breads and pastries. Just around the corner is the Kalk Bay MODERN contemporary art gallery and shop, with an eclectic african art collection.

Another local favourite which Anthony Loxton would have approved of is Habanero’s which serves genuine Mexican fare such as enchiladas and tortillas.

Buildings on the main street have undergone extensive renovations and upgrading in recent times but the old part still exists with its quaint little shops with unique hand-crafted items and an eclectic assortment of memorabilia and mementoes. A sandwich board sign beckons you into Quagga (‘Art, Books, Africana and unusual items bought and sold’). Several potters and artists live in the area and sell their wares to the public direct.

The Kalk Bay Books bookshop with its modern Dickensian air has a comprehensive selection of new books for the avid serious reader as well as the more relaxed holiday visitor. Check out the Kalk Bay Books featured write-up.

Visit Cape to Cairo an antique shop where I found the cheerful skeleton paper puppets from Mexico which acted as the inpiration for Anthony Loxton’s unusual confidante.

Don’t miss the real Kalk Bay Trading Post which stocks a treasure trove of collectables including books pertaining to the area and its surrounds (an invaluable source of information for an author doing research!).

In THE GOOD CEMETERY GUIDE there is a fictional version of the Kalk Bay Trading Post where Mr Pinns, who is a good listener, stacks history and souvenirs of the past.