This month Honda Marine explores the charming and unspoilt village atmosphere of Pringle Bay.
The little town was named after Rear-Admiral Thomas Pringle of the Royal Navy, who commanded the naval station at the Cape in the late 1790s. It features immense natural beauty characterised by secluded beaches, a safe and friendly town, and a number of excellent restaurants and curio shops that make Pringle Bay well worth visiting. A variety of quaint accommodation is on offer in Pringle Bay, from guest houses to selfcatering establishments.
Pringle Bay is one of the towns set within the natural beauty of the Kogelberg Biosphere, a reserve proclaimed by UNESCO as a heritage site, which supports over 1 600 species of Fynbos, 150 of which are endemic.
The charming village is nestled at the foot of the Hangklip Mountain and is jealously guarded by its residents who frown upon unnecessary developments such as tarred roads and street lights. And rightly so, as the town is beautifully secluded and untouched, quite far from the main coastal road and almost entirely within the shadow of the Hangklip – which also marks the south-eastern point of False Bay. The naturally beautiful environment is home to a wide variety of birdlife and animals and, although historically a holiday town, there are a growing number of people, particularly artists, those in the theatre and film industry and people in retirement, who live here permanently.
Only an hour’s drive from Cape Town, Pringle Bay offers an idyllic outdoor lifestyle: safe swimming, snorkelling around the many rock pools and crevices on the beach; diving for abalone, rock lobster and crayfish – although you will need a permit to do so – and amazing opportunities for bird watching that include the Sunbird, Sugar bird and the African Black Oystercatcher. Pringle Bay falls within a protected area – one needs a permit to fish – and all the breeding bird colonies in the area are protected.
