Seapoint is a multicultural melting point in the heart of Cape Town. During apartheid era many black and coloured South African’s defied the Group Areas Act to live in Seapoints. As a result Seapoint is now home to a Rainbow Nation.
- Take a jog or brisk walk along the Seapoint Promenade
- Dive in and enjoy a refreshing 'dip' in the Seapoint Salt Water Swimming Pool
- Sip cocktails from the revolving restaurant and bar at the Ritz Hotel
- Eat seafood at the legendary La Perla Restaurant.
- Enjoy coffee at any number of coffee bars
- Shop for the quirky and unusual
Seapoint is situated on a small stretch of land between Signal Hill and the Atlantic Ocaen. As as result, space is limited and unlike other Cape Town Suburbs, the houses are built closely together. There are more blocks of flats and less public spaces. The most important communal space is the beachfront Promenade. This is a paved walkway along the beachfront used by Seapoint residents and visitors.
Ships entering Table Bay Hours from the East Coast of Africa have to round the coast at Seapoint and over the years many of them have run a ground on the reefs just off shore. In May 1954, during a great storm, the 246 Ton “Basuto Coast” ended up on rocks within a few metres of the concrete wall of the promenade. A fireman who came to the assistance of the crew was swept off the wall of the swimming pool adjacent to the promenade by waves and was never seen again. The vessel was soon cut up and carried away for scrap.
The Mouille Point Lighthouse is the oldest in the country: its giant oil lantern first shone in 1824, later to be replaced by an 850,000 candlepower lamp that can be seen 23 kilometres out to sea. The local hospital, New Somerset, houses the Cape Medical Mususem, worth a visit for its fascinating relics of modern medicine pioneering days. Of special interest is the re-created Victorian Dentist’s Surgery. Also note the photograph of the somewhat effeminate Dr James Barry, who performed the country’s first Caesarean section and went on to become inspector general of Britain Army hospitals. On his death, so the story goes, it was revealed that Barry was a woman although the story was never conclusively substantiated.
