Gordon's Bay is a harbour town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, close to Strand. It is situated on the northeastern corner of False Bay about 50 km from Cape Town to the south of the N2 national road and is named after Robert Jacob Gordon (1743–1795), the Dutch explorer of Scottish descent.
Gordon's Bay is the smallest of three towns in the Helderberg region, so named after the Helderberg Mountain which is part of the Hottentots-Holland Mountains which dwarf the locality on two sides. Gordon's Bay was originally named "Fish Hoek", many years before the town of the same name, located on the western side of False Bay, was founded.
Evidence of this can be seen on the outside wall of the local Post Office.
Gordon's Bay consists of the old village, situated around the old harbour and Bikini Beach, the mountainside on the lower slopes of the Hottentots-Holland Mountains overlooking False Bay, and the low-lying suburbs close to the main beach, making up the most recent expansion of the town.
The older part of Gordon's Bay is host to the South African Naval College, an officer training centre located adjacent to the old harbour and yacht marina. Above the harbour on the mountainside is a giant anchor and the letters "GB". Many think that this stands for Gordon's Bay, but in fact it stands for General Botha which was the original name of the naval station in the town. The Steenbras Dam, Cape Town's primary supply of drinking water, is located on the mountain above the town.
Gordon’s Bay has been likened to a mini Monte Carlo because of its location to the sea with the backdrop of exquisite mountains, together with its Mediterranean climate.
Gordon’s Bay has some of the best beaches in the Cape, beautiful white sand, rock pools, shallow paddling areas and calm seas. The sea is much warmer here than you will find on the Atlantic coast. Bikini Beach has been awarded Blue Flag status, an international quality rating of the highest order.
There are two harbours in the village. One is the original working harbour which is still used for fishing and maintenance of boats and yachts. It is also home to the Gordon’s Bay Yacht Club, National Sea Rescue Institute and the SA Navy. The new Harbour is situated in Harbour Island and is home to many charter boats and yachts. This harbour is home to the Gordon’s Bay Boat Angling Club. Both harbours have a variety of very colourful and interesting restaurants.
This site was chosen for its beautiful view and is conveniently located for a quick “cache and grab”, but remember to “stop and smell the sea”!