Information on Simon's Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Simon's Town is a village and a naval base in near Cape Town in the Western Cape. It is located on the eastern side of the Cape Peninsula, on the shores of False Bay. For more than two centuries it has been an important harbour and naval base. The town is named after Simon van der Stel, an early governor of the Cape Colony. The picturesque village is boxed in along the shoreline by the heights above, and The land rises steeply from near the water's edge.

Simon's Town is now in effect a suburb of greater Cape Town. It is the terminus of a railway line that runs south from the central business district of Cape Town. In places the railway line hugs the steep eastern shore of False Bay quite spectacularly and in adverse weather foam from some heavy swells will lift up and wet the trains.

Boulders Beach is located a few kilometres to the south of Simon's Town. Here, small coves with sandy white beaches and shallow calm water are interspersed between boulders of Cape granite. There is been a colony of African penguins at Boulders Beach.