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Noordhoek is a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, located below Chapman's Peak on the west coast of the Cape Peninsula, approximately thirty-five kilometres to the south of the city itself. The name "Noordhoek" was taken from Dutch and literally means "north corner". It is best-known for its picturesque shoreline and its long, wide, sandy beach, which stretches south to the neighbouring village of Kommetjie. |
Near the southern end of this beach is the wreck of the steamship "Kakapo", which ran aground about a century ago when the captain mistook Chapmans' Peak for the Cape of Good Hope and put the helm over to port. Noordhoek can be accessed either from the spectacular scenic coastal road, Chapman's Peak Drive, which leads out of Hout Bay or via the mountain road OuKaapseWeg which cuts through the beautiful Silvermine Nature reserve - now part of the Table Mountain National Park. Noordhoek is a small scattered community of nice houses, often with sea views and has a large horse population as riding on the long sandy beach is a great attraction. Many artists live in Noordhoek.
The Noordhoek valley remains one of the Cape Town's treasured destinations. Despite its rural atmosphere and rustic surroundings, its famous beach and its vast wetlands, Noordhoek has lots more to offer, including a wide range of activities. Many guesthouses provide a wide variety of accommodation.
Noordhoek is situated at the foot of Chapman's Peak. It has a delightful village atmosphere with awesome mountain and sea views. Here you will find horses, pigs, cows, hens, ducks, geese and rabbits roaming around in gardens and open public spaces. Here you will see numerous wild peacocks, guinea fowl, Egyptian Geese and meerkats. This is where you will hear the owls hooting at night, where you will watch the Black Eagle soaring above, and where you will hear the call of the Fish Eagle echo as it flies over the majestic mountains.
History
Noordhoek, meaning the Northern Corner, was first named in 1743 when it described the north corner of the farm Slangkop which was occupied by Christina Diemer, the widow of Frederick Rousseau. However long before this the valley was occupied by Khoi nomads.
This is evidenced by the excavation of skeletons in Noordhoek.
The first permanent European inhabitant of the area was Jaco Malan who built a house there. In 1857 the area was divided into six portions, most of these were bought by the de Villiers family.
The farmers grew vegetables to supply the ships calling at Simon's Town. An article in the Wynberg Times of May 1902 describes the village. The correspondent took the train to Fish Hoek and then walked along the road (in atrocious condition) to Noordhoek, about 61/2 kilometres away.
He arrived at the Post Office/Shop/Farmhouse. He climbed up the mountainside and looked down upon "nice farm-houses scattered all over, surrounded by cultivated gardens growing nearly every kind of vegetable". There were fine oak trees and a mountain stream watered the gardens and land. To the south and west was a wonderful view of the Atlantic Ocean bordered by the white sands of the glorious 7 kilometre stretch of beach.
The wreck of the famous steamer Kakapo lay prominently high and dry on the beach. The article ended "I have never seen in all my travels a prettier place than Noordhoek, or one more worth a trip to spend a good long day".
Today Noordhoek remains one of the Cape's treasured destinations.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN CAPE TOWN
- International School of Cape Town
Wynberg, Cape Town
Tel: +27 21 763 5300
www.isct.co.za
Co Ed School - UK (English) Curriculum - 4years - 18years
- Reddam House School
Steenberg, Boulevard, Tokai, Cape Town
Tel: +27 21 702 2322
www.reddamhouse.org.za
Co Ed School - Kindergarten to Matric
- Bishops School
Rondebosch, Cape Town
Tel: +27 21 659 1000
www.bishops.org.za
Boys Only School - Preparatory to Matric
- Constantia Waldorf School of Cape Town
Constantia, Cape Town
Tel: +27 21 794 2103
Co Ed School - Kindergarten to Matric
- Herschel Girls School
Claremont, Cape Town
Tel: +27 21 670 7575 (Prep School)
Tel: +27 21 670 7500 (High School)
www.herschel.org.za
- Hout Bay International School
Hout Bay, Western Cape
Tel: +27 21 790 8149
Co Ed School - UK (English) Curriculum - 4years - 18years
- American International School of Cape Town
Constantia, Cape Town
Tel: +27 21 713 2220
www.aisct.org.za
A U.S based, international curriculum for students in Pre-K through High School
- Synergy
Synergy is a Private Pre and Primary school that emphasises accelerated academic learning while developing communication and relationship building skills.
Tel: +27 (0)21 785 5500
Fax: +27 (0)86 650 4414
Physical Address: Cnr of Kommetjie Road and Fish Eagle Park, Sunnydale, Cape Town, South Africa
- Imhoff Waldorf School
We are a small, community orientated school offering holistic and creative education. The Imhoff Waldorf School is a registered Non-Profit organisation.We have a Play Group, a Kindergarten and a Primary School from class one up to class seven.
Phone: +27 21 783 4237
School Physical Address:
Imhoff Waldorf School, Imhoff Farm, Kommetjie Road, Kommetjie, Cape Town, South Africa
http://www.imhoffwaldorf.org/ContactInfo/tabid/774/Default.aspx
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