Arniston
Fresh fish.
This lovely little fishing village is set against a backdrop of impossibly blue seas and whitewashed cottages. Meander down to the harbour and choose a fish fresh off the boats, or take a walk to the caves and shout something you’d like to hear a few times. Take some champagne and celebrate being alive.
The town with two names
The Afrikaans name is Waenhuiskrans (wagon house cliff), after the huge cave on the coast, big enough to house a wagon and span of oxen. The cave is accessible at low tide. Walk over the sand dunes at the end of the beach and have a look.
The English name comes from the shipwreck of a British troopship the “Arniston”. In the spring of 1815 a British transport ship, the HMS Arniston, was on its way to England from Sri Lanka when it ran aground. 372 lives were lost when the boat sank, including 25 children. Only 6 men made it to shore alive.
Although it was officially called Arniston for a while, it’s now equally officially called Waenhuiskrans. You can take your pick – but road signs are more likely to have the present official name on them.
It’s all very confusing.
The coastline here shows many spectacular results of sea erosion - huge caverns, arches and all manner of odd shapes.
Prehistoric fish traps can also be found along the coast. These low stone-built enclosures are submerged at high tide and fish are trapped as the tide recedes. Huge piles of fish bones and shells on the beach serve as memorials to the feats of a vanished people known as strandlopers (beach walkers) who once scavenged the shore for food.
Information from http://www.coastingafrica.com/
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