Smitswinkel Shufti
An easily accessible cache at a great viewpoint a short walk down from a convenient stopping place on the M4 coastal route towards Cape Point & Scarborough. Can be done as a stand-alone or together with two others nearby in the bay.
Although many Capetonians will have driven past Smitswinkel on their way to the Cape Peninsula reserve, unless they are divers, surfers (or geocachers?), they would probably not know (much) about Smitswinkel. It is secluded (not even signposted) and you have to either take a boat or park on the road above and then take a 15 minute winding walk descending 120m down the steep hillside to access the beach.
There are 29 cottages perched on the hillside above the beach, most of them wooden bungalows on stilts. This is no glamorous seaside resort or secluded, trendy bolthole for the wealthy. Most of the houses look somewhat neglected but the combination of Cape fynbos, dramatic mountain backdrops, pristine beach, crashing waves and a spectacular view across False Bay make the place idyllic.
Although the houses may not be much to look at or have modern conveniences getting a property there is next to impossible and most of them have been in the same families for generations.
It is worth the effort to get down there. The bay is popular for snorkelling, diving and fishing (on my first visit fishermen had just hauled a huge catch of yellowtail up onto the beach) and the water is calm and great for swimming - if you can stand the cold water!
There is a major dive site out in the bay with 5 wrecks at 40 meters. Accessible by boat only, the ships lie upright on the sand and are virtually intact. They were scuttled by the Navy in the early 70s and are now covered with large, colourful sponges and beautiful sea fans. The ships are the:
SAS Good Hope and SAS Transvaal (Navy Frigates)
Rockeater (Diamond Dredger)
Oratava and Princess Elizabeth (Fishing Trawlers)
In April 2006, 40 hectares at the bay, one of the Peninsula's last pieces of undeveloped coastal property, was sold at auction for R7.73m to a foreigner living in South Africa.
Whenever the land here has changed hands, local residents have been concerned that the buyer may use it for a housing development, which would ruin the character of the area. The land was previously auctioned in 2001 for R3m, but the buyer, a consortium, did not build on it.
The land surrounds but excludes the cottages, borders the Cape Peninsula National Park and falls within the Cape Peninsula Protected Natural Environment.
There is no electricity, refuse removal or road access for the cottages. Special permission must be granted by the provincial authorities for rezoning or development and previous applications have been turned down.
The land's rural zoning allows buildings that occupy only 500 sq.m, which would allow only one home. The auctioneers said the buyer was made aware of the land's restrictions and had the 1915 title deed.
Table Mountain National Park have stated in the past that the land was identified as a priority for inclusion in the park and was to become a World Heritage Site. However, they could not afford the kind of prices fetched at the last two auctions. One option would be a long-term lease on the land and another would be the land being given to the park, but its high value make this unlikely.
To reach the cache:
Park @ S34 15.710 E18 28.000. Carefully cross the road - watching out for traffic coming down around the bend - to the start of the trail down to Smitswinkel beach.
Follow the trail a short distance to the cache location. The cache, a small green-taped cylindrical tablet pot, is hidden just off the trail.
To make your visit here even more fun!
This cache may be nicely combined with two others nearby:
GC1M0GK Smitswinkel Bay hidden under the cliffs just beyond the south end of the beach and
GC2HHJ3 Patiencie Valley Revisited hidden in a shady little valley running back up from near the foot of this trail to the road near Smitswinkel Forestry Station – giving you a nice short circular route possibility.
Enjoy!
*shufti = a quick look (Arabic). . The English form is 'shufty' as in 'let's take a shufty at this view' - originally RAF but later also Army - used originally to mean taking a look for possible dangers. The American equivalent = check out.