Kommetjie

Kommetjie
Kommetjie viewed from Hout Bay (Photo: Hilton Teper)
Street map of Kommetjie
Kommetjie Kommetjie shown within Western Cape
Location within Cape Town Kommetjie
Coordinates: 34°08′25″S 18°19′45″E / 34.14028°S 18.32917°E / -34.14028; 18.32917Coordinates: 34°08′25″S 18°19′45″E / 34.14028°S 18.32917°E / -34.14028; 18.32917
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
Municipality	City of Cape Town
Main Place	Kommetjie
Established	1903
Area^[1]
• Total	2.56 km² (0.99 sq mi)
Population (2011)^[1]
• Total	2,435
• Density	950/km² (2,500/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)^[1]
• Black African	2.7%
• Coloured	3.5%
• Indian/Asian	0.4%
• White	92.0%
• Other	1.3%
First languages (2011)^[1]
• English	86.5%
• Afrikaans	10.3%
• Other	3.2%
Postal code (street)	7976
PO box	7976

Kommetjie (Afrikaans for "small basin," approximately pronounced cawma-key) is a small town near Cape Town, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It lies about halfway down the west coast of the Cape Peninsula, at the southern end of the long wide beach that runs northwards towards Chapman's Peak and Noordhoek.

The area is a popular spot for surfing, since powerful waves from the Atlantic Ocean rise up over rocky reefs formed by hard sandstones of the Table Mountain Group. Wherever the bottom is rocky, the shallower waters are thick with giant kelp forests.

Kommetjie is famous for its excellent crayfishing despite recent changes in fishing quotas which have seen a drastic reduction in the daily catch allowed.

It is the hometown of the South African singer-songwriter Jeremy Loops.

Local Business

Slangkop Lighthouse whilst being restored, near Kommetjie.

Kommetjie supports a small number of small enterprises, including a Shell garage (including a Shell Select), a convenience store, a laundromat, a small mail-order computer business, a video shop, a café, and a variety of restaurants.

The Kommetjie Post Shoppe, situated in the Village Place, has an SA Post office agency which also offers internet access.

Kommetjie, Afrikaans for “small basin”, being situated below mountains, which supports part of the Cape Peninsula. The town boasts with Slangkop Lighthouse, situated on the beach, which stands about 33 meters tall. The lighthouse can be seen from the mountain pass "Ou Kaapse Weg" and has been around since 1919. The famous Pick 'n Pay Argus Cycle Tour passes each year through this small town which is also popular for local and international surfing. It is situated on the Atlantic Ocean with cold currents in this region and attractive waves for surfing, as well as crayfish and fishing. It is a quiet and relaxing town ideal for camping and getaways. Not far from Kommetjie, along Long Beach near Noordhoek, lies The Kakapo Shipwreck, which ran aground in 1900.

Fauna and Flora

Kommetjie hosts a variety of plant and animal species, many of which are endangered. Kommetjie is especially well known for its Milkwood groves, birdwatching and baboon troops, which frequently come down from their home on the nearby hills to raid for food among the residences.

Kommetjie is also part of the fynbos biome, which boasts the highest number of plant species per square kilometre. Some of the rarest and most sought after plants are found in this biome, but face threat from a variety of aliens, mostly Australian plants, imported in the 1800s. In a twist of irony, some fynbos plants have now become invasive aliens in parts of Australia.

References

1 2 3 4 "Sub Place Kommetjie". Census 2011.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kommetjie.

Communities of City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality, Western Cape

Seat: Cape Town

Cape Flats	Athlone Crawford Gugulethu Hanover Park Heideveld Joe Slovo Kenwyn Lansdowne Manenberg Nyanga Ottery Philippi Rondebosch East Strandfontein

Helderberg	Faure Gordon's Bay Macassar Sir Lowry's Pass Village Somerset West Strand

Mitchells Plain Khayelitsha	Blue Downs Crossroads Eerste River Khayelitsha Kuils River Mfuleni Mitchell's Plain QQ Section

Northern	Brackenfell Durbanville Fisantekraal Kensington Kraaifontein Panorama Philadelphia Wallacedene

South Peninsula	Bergvliet Bishopscourt Capri Village Claremont Clovelly Constantia Da Gama Park Diep River Fish Hoek Glencairn Grassy Park Harfield Village Heathfield Hout Bay Imizamo Yethu Kalk Bay Kenilworth Kommetjie Llandudno Lotus River Masiphumelele Meadowridge Mowbray Muizenberg Newlands Noordhoek Ocean View Plumstead Retreat Rondebosch Rosebank Scarborough Simon's Town St James Southern Suburbs Steenberg Tokai Wynberg

Table Bay	Bakoven Bantry Bay Bo-Kaap Camps Bay Cape Town Clifton De Waterkant Devil's Peak Estate District Six Epping Foreshore Fresnaye Gardens Goodwood Green Point Higgovale Langa Maitland Mouille Point Ndabeni Nomzamo Observatory Oranjezicht Pinelands Robben Island Salt River Schotsche Kloof Sea Point Tamboerskloof Thornton Three Anchor Bay University Estate Vredehoek Walmer Estate Woodstock Zonnebloem

Tygerberg	Belhar Bellville Bishop Lavis Blikkiesdorp Bonteheuwel Bothasig Delft Edgemead Elsie's River Monte Vista Norwood Parow Tygerberg

Blaauwberg	Atlantis Bloubergstrand Century City Dunoon Joe Slovo Park Mamre Melkbosstrand Milnerton Parklands Table View

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, April 28, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.