Welcome to the Gansbaai information page - in addition to region guides like this post we also list a broad range of hotels, B&B's, guesthouses and self-catering establishments. View our Overberg page if you're looking for more
Overberg accommodation.
Gansbaai mountain taken from h
Gansbaai, or Gans Bay, is a fishing village and a popular tourist destination in the Western Cape province. It was founded in 1881 after 18-year-old fisherman Johannes Cornelis Wessels walked across the dunes from Stanform and discovered excellent fishing in the area. The town's economy still revolves around its fishing industry, but is increasingly relying on tourism. The town later earned its Afrikaans name, meaning "bay of geese”, from the flocks of Egyptian geese that bred here.
Today Gansbaai is known for its dense population of Great White Sharks and as a good whale-watching location for the Southern Right Whale. It is considered the Great White Shark capital of the world, drawing National Geopraphic Society film crews and researchers from around the globe to study the wildlife.
Gansbaai is also home to “Danger Point” - the place where the HMS Birkenhead was wrecked in 1852. The ship hit a concealed rock 20km from Danger Point, now called "Birkenhead Rock", while transporting 445 Welsh and Scottish soldiers to the Eastern Cape to fight the Xhosa. The Birkenhead became famous because it was the first shipwreck where the "women-and-children-first" rule was applied. All women and children were saved, but most of the men perished. In 1895 the Danger Point Lighthouse was built, providing more security for the ships in these dangerous waters.
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