If you like watching the day’s signature, Dwarskersbos is it!
The fall of day comes alive almost 365 times a year in this fishing village 169 km from Cape Town. If for nothing else, it’s well worth a trip for this experience.
It was founded in 1920 on a Sandveld farm called Dwarskersbos owned by the Smit family, who still own most of the original farm. Kersbos means candle bush – Euclea polyandra of the Ebenaceae family – and ‘dwars’ means across.
Dwarskersbos hit the headlines when a 6-meter high storm surge struck on 27 August 1969, without any known seismic disturbance or major meteorological storm. The night-time occurrence of the wave meant there were no direct witnesses of its propagation from the beach to the community. Rather, residents were awakened by the flooding of their houses and in turn woke up neighbours whose houses were further inland.
With about 400 permanent residents, the town is a popular holiday location. Well-known for its excellent fishing, galjoen, snoek, bronze bream, elf, cob, eagle ray, steenbras, gurnard, grey mullet and white stumpnose are up for grabs. Understandably, water sports too feature in a big way, while dolphins and whales play it up for the crowds.
Nearby Rocherpan teems with 180 bird species, including the African hoopoe, black-winged stilt, African purple swamp hen, black-headed heron, black-crowned night heron, sandwich tern, greater flamingo and Cape shoveller.
In Dwarskersbos, land of the setting sun, it’s all about the little sips of joy that make for a truly happy life.
