Hout Bay ("Wood Bay") is a fishing village and suburb about 20 km south of Cape Town city centre, tucked into a dramatic valley between the mountains of the Cape Peninsula. The harbour is active — fishing boats, a seal colony on Duiker Island just offshore, and the bustle of the waterfront Harbour Market.
The Chapman's Peak Drive, from Hout Bay to Noordhoek, is one of the most spectacular coastal drives in South Africa — nine kilometres blasted into the cliff face above a sheer drop to the Atlantic. The Sentinel headland to the west can be hiked for views across the bay, while the valley floor holds the Hout Bay Museum, World of Birds, and the peculiar Lichtenstein Castle on the hillside above. The township of Imizamo Yethu to the north of the valley is best understood through a guided community tour. Sandy Bay, a secluded naturist beach, is a 30-minute walk from neighbouring Llandudno.