Hangklip

Cape Hangklip forms the southeastern boundary of False Bay and is known for its dramatic coastline and rugged mountain scenery. Portuguese sailors originally called the mountain Punta Espinosa (“Thorny Point”), while it later became known as Cabo Falso (“False Cape”) because sailors sometimes mistook it for Cape Point during bad weather.

Ancient people around Hangklip and Betty’s Bay

Archaeological finds show that people used this coastline long before recorded history. At Cape Hangklip, researchers identified extensive examples of Early Stone Age tools, including handaxes and stone-working debris. The tools were made mainly from local Table Mountain Sandstone, with quartz and silcrete also used. The site has not been definitely dated, although its tools have been compared with material from Elandsfontein dating to approximately 700,000–400,000 years ago.

These early toolmakers lived long before the historically documented Khoekhoe and San communities, so the tools cannot be attributed to either group.

Other archaeological sites in the Betty’s Bay area include Dawidskraal, Betty’s Bay Cave and shell middens at the coast. Nearby Rooiels Cave has produced stone tools, pottery, marine shells, animal remains and decorated ostrich-eggshell beads. The finds indicate human activity over thousands of years, although they do not prove continuous occupation.

Much later, San hunter-gatherers and Khoekhoe-speaking pastoralists formed part of the Cape’s human history. These were distinct societies with different ways of life, although their histories sometimes overlapped. The term Strandloper, used in historical accounts for people living along the coast, should not be treated as the name of one clearly defined ancient tribe.

The coastline itself has also changed. During the last Ice Age, sea levels were lower, and areas now beneath the sea were dry land. As the sea rose, the coastline shifted. Some traces of earlier human activity may now be underwater, buried by dunes or lost to erosion.

Runaway slave refuge

During the 18th and 19th centuries, Hangklip became a refuge for runaway slaves, known as maroons or drosters. Many hid in caves above the cliffs,

The entrance was extremely difficult to approach except under favourable conditions, with rocks, tides and dangerous water making access treacherous.

The people living there fished and found ways to obtain supplies. They sometimes intercepted wagons returning from Cape Town, and, according to some accounts, they even had contacts among enslaved and free people there who helped supply them with what they needed.

For enslaved people who had chosen flight, life was harsh, and people died, but the caves offered the possibility of living beyond the immediate control of an enslaver. Some survived there for years. Some created families. Some developed networks with people elsewhere in the colony

The fugitives survived by eating mussels, limpets and fish. Fishing lines were made from shrubs, while hooks could be made from bone or pieces of metal. Some members of the community crossed the Cape Flats at night, exchanging fish or wood with other enslaved people for things such as gunpowder, lead and flint.

The Colonial Authorities were aware of this community, and armed expeditions were sent in pursuit of the fugitives. In 1735–1736, a commando was sent into the area, and seven people were captured. On 29 January 1737, they were placed on trial in Cape Town.

The accused included men and women from places such as Bengal, Madagascar and Rio de la Goa. The charges included murder, robbery, plunder, armed conspiracy and disturbing the peace, and the sentences were horrific, and most were executed.

WW11 Lookout

During World War II, Cape Hangklip again became strategically important. Between 1942 and 1945, secret radar stations were established on the mountain to monitor shipping convoys and aircraft in False Bay during the threat of German U-boats operating off the South African coast. The high elevation of Hangklip Mountain made it an ideal observation point. The station was staffed largely by British servicewomen, including members of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, most of them university-educated. They took an oath of secrecy so seriously that many didn’t tell their families for 50 years. The nearby base, now the Hangklip Hotel, accommodated staff. Remains of some wartime structures can still be found in the area today. Find a list of ships that wrecked near Cape Hangklip

The Hangklip Peak Hike is an easy half-day hike up a distinctive hill with fantastic views from the top over beaches and mountains.

Hikers should be aware that snakes occur in fynbos areas during warm weather. A practical identification and safety guide is available here.