Governor Simon van der Stel

Simon's Town is steeped in history dating back to the early Dutch and British settlements, and features many Victorian and Cape Dutch style homes. The heart of the town, called the "Historic Mile", boasts a great variety of architecturally interesting buildings.

The British took possession of the Cape in 1806, and in the winter of 1814 turned Simon’s Town into a base for the Royal Navy. 

In 1957 it became a South African naval base. A fine nautical museum details the town's history and another recreates its naval roots.

The bay faces north, which helps to protect the town and beaches from the strong summer southeast winds, a feature of life in the Western Cape. Its waters are calm, warm and shallow, unlike the South Atlantic coast, and are ideal for a wide range of water activities.

With its magnificent natural setting of mountain and sea, Simon's Town is home to a number of good restaurants (seafood is the specialty), antique shops, fine walks, and other visitors' services. The new Quayside Waterfront with a harbor view is an inviting way to spend some time. The secluded, sandy beaches encourage swimming and sunbathing through most of the year.

The New Quayside Waterfront

JUST NUISANCE

Just Nuisance was the only dog that has ever officially been enlisted into the British Royal Navy. Famed for his preference for the company of navy ratings (he wasn’t too keen on Officers) Nuisance helped many a sailor rejoin his ship after a night on the town.

In 1939, when the sailors’ favorite Great Dane dog created a nuisance of himself on the trains, a request was sent to the British parliament asking for him to be enlisted in the Navy. Permission was granted and the dog was brought to the Recruiting Officer who enquired, “Name?” “Nuisance, Sir”, the sailor replied. “First name?” “Just nuisance, Sir,” the sailor stated.

‘Able Seaman Just Nuisance’ became a legend in his own lifetime.  He died prematurely after a boisterous leap from a moving vehicle but is immortalized in a life-sized statue in Simon’s Town’s Jubilee Square.

JACKASS PENGUINS

Located at Boulders Beach, a couple of kilometers outside of Simon’s Town, is a special attraction: a colony of Jackass Penguins, one of only two such colonies of these penguins in the world.

On warm summer days people and penguins splash together in the clear and shallow waters of the bay, surrounded by big round boulders. These cute birds are quite friendly with humans, but they don't want to be touched.