Own a Lifestyle of Culture in Gordon's Bay
Category Blog
Owning property and living a leisure lifestyle on Cape Town’s Eastern seaboard means tasting the nectar of low-intensity village life and high culture in Gordon’s Bay.
Spanning along the gorgeous Cape Whale Coast Route, Gordon’s Bay was named after famed Scottish Officer in the Dutch Defence Force, Robert Jacob Gordon, who was born in 1743. Gordon discovered the pristine and beautiful East Coast enclave in 1773 while on a botanical expedition and he had to be persuaded by his fellow adventurers to reluctantly leave.
Approaching modern-day Gordon’s Bay from Strand or Somerset West, a huge white GB sign with an anchor is visible on the Southern side of the Hottentots-Holland Mountains – some people refer to this part as the Steenbras Mountain. The GB sign is in fact the emblem of the original General Botha SA Naval College, named after the erstwhile Unionist Prime Minister Louis Botha. The Naval College is a landmark in Gordon’s Bay and its emblem has now become the famous emblem of Gordon’s Bay.
Gordon’s Bay is small holiday village with only 15 000 permanent inhabitants (give or take a few souls), doubling up over the Easter and Christmas periods. Three relatively spacious shopping centers and two primary schools make life for moms and dads easier, while the absence of banks and air-polluting factories ensure the cleanest air in the nation. Huge and noisy cities (writer’s own opinion) such as Strand, Somerset West (including the Somerset West Mall) and Stellenbosch are only minutes away, offering schools, universities and hospitals.
Personal Favourites
The quaint Old Village (close to the main beach) is historically the original Gordon’s Bay fishing hamlet and today the hub of the tourist area. Restaurants, pubs, book shops, an internet cafe and an array of interesting small shops populate the beachfront area.
The Gordon’s Bay Library and Bikini Books are both world famous and one of the primary reasons why I moved to Gordon’s Bay and live here happily ever after.
This community library, which happens to be adjacent to Leapfrog Gordon’s Bay, recently celebrated sixty years of reading, learning and leisure pleasure. The library is staffed by an engagingly knowledgeable and supportive staff and forms the cultural heart of Gordon’s Bay, with patrons traversing beautiful Clarence from Betty’s Bay, Pringle Bay, Rooi Els and Dappat se Gat to sample its huge array of books and resources. It is everything a library should be.
The capacious building has a well-stocked children’s section, a toy library, internet and computers, research works of all shapes and sizes – could there be a better place in South Africa for writers and authors to be creative?
On offer at the library is also:
- Wonderfully creative outreach and reading programmes for young and old;
- holiday activities;
- storytelling;
- poetry readings;
- book discussions; and more…
The library enriches village life in Gordon’s Bay and enhances a lifestyle that most people aspire to when they retire one day.
Bikini Beach Books is not far from Bikini Beach, one of only four beaches in the Western Cape awarded Blue Flag status (both are quite famous for the number of people wandering around there in bikinis). The Blue Flag beach project was initiated in Europe in 1987 by the Foundation for Environmental Education, focussing on the sustainable development of beaches and marinas. The coveted blue flag symbolises a first-class, high-quality beach and, in addition to Gordon’s Bay, currently flies in thirty two countries of the world.
Culture Abounds
Culture connoisseurs will also be happy to know that Gordon’s Bay has more than its fair share of artists and sculptors basking in the glory of gorgeous nature reserves surrounding the town, exquisite sea views of False Bay, the imposing Hottentots-Holland Mountains and the cleanest, clearest air available this side of Paris.
I lived in Paris for many years, often hearing that artists lived and painted there because of its special ambiance, the quality of life and special light emanating from the bleak Northern Sun in summertime.
Gordon’s Bay mirrors some of the exquisite Mediterranean villages on France’s Southern seaboard, like Antibes, Cannes, Heyers and Theole-sur-Mer. The essence and the soul of quintessential France is about culture, about fine dining and a philosophy about drawing the nectar out of life.
Gordon’s Bay affords much the same closer to home, to the sea, to beaches, vineyards and cultured lifestyle that will infinitely reward you for the clever choices you make in life.
Go ahead… What are you waiting for?
About the Author
Residing there, Henning van Aswegen’s passion for Gordon’s Bay knows no bounds. By day he is a Real Estate Agent and the Office Manager at this award-winning Branch of the Leapfrog Property Group. In his spare time (when that is, nobody knows), he writes about his beloved town over at Gorgeous Gordon’s Bay.
If you are interested in buying or renting property in Gordon’s Bay, please visit our website or like and follow the Leapfrog Property Group Gordon’s Bay on Facebook.
Author: Henning van Aswegen, Leapfrog Gordon's Bay
