Looking out over Table Bay towards Cape Town and Table Mountain, it seems surprising to think that with these amazing views, Big Bay suburb was only developed in the last decade. Nowadays, Big Bay is a highly sought after area with stylish seaside apartments costing upwards of several million.
At one time, the land surrounding Big Bay belonged to renowned racehorse trainer Terence Millard who trained his champion horses on his property which stretched all the way to the beach. Nothing remains of his original estate, instead, chic beachfront homes, restaurants and gated communities occupy the land.
Visitors travel to Big Bay for the views enjoyed over a good meal, while surfers flock to the beach to surf or kiteboard. Residents walk their dogs on the lengthy beach that extends for kilometres and families watch their children play on the grassy banks overlooked by a shopping mall. Big Bay has an excellent road network, public transport facilities and is conveniently located to many of the region’s attractions.
Top 6 reasons to visit Big Bay
1. Hire a surfboard, a fat-wheeled bike (for riding on beach sand) or take a lesson in kiteboarding right on the Big Bay beachfront. The beach has volunteer lifeguards patrolling the separate swimming and surfing beaches.
2. Eden on the Bay is a cosy shopping and restaurant district in Big Bay, the eateries facing the sea offer exceptional views of Table Mountain and Robben Island. On windy days, the sky is filled with colourful kites steered by experienced kiteboarders.
3. Hike the various trails through Koeberg Nuclear Power Station. The reserve around the plant has zebra and several species of buck that are fairly tame and will allow visitors to approach at close range for a quick snapshot.
4. Big Bay is near to the start of the Durbanville Wine Route. Begin your journey at De Grendel, one of the top-rated wine farms in the Cape region. Order a meat platter or cheese board to pair with a wine tasting. Another wine estate nearby worth visiting is Capaia Winery.
5. Adjoining Small Bay has an historic homestead with onsite restaurant offering local dishes, and a popular hotel with outdoor restaurant and pub. Both venues are busy most days, arrive early to get the best seats.
6. Travel into Cape Town to experience the city’s many attractions that include a cableway trip up Table Mountain, a tour of Robben Island, a resident African penguin colony at Boulders Beach and a visit to the Cape Point lighthouse.
Transport
Cape Town International is the nearest airport, 33km from Big Bay. The MyCiti bus service offers an indirect shuttle service between the airport and the suburb. Note that these buses run daily until 22h00.There are 2 car rental agencies in nearby Tableview, however, you can order your rental online. Uber operates in the area, if you have the app, contact them for a ride. An alternate metered taxi option is the Rikkis taxi group.
Did you know?
Terence Millard has retired as a racehorse trainer but his legacy lives on; on two separate occasions he had horses finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd in a major race and during his career, his charges had over 2500 wins, both records unlikely ever to be matched.
The Big Bay Surf Lifesaving Club has a live webcam in place for surfers and swimmers to assess the surf conditions before visiting. The webcam address is http://www.wavescape.co.za/tools/webcams/big-bay.html.
