Fish Hoek Beach #5: Track-Side
The cache, a small camo-taped tablet pot, is hidden just below the rails at the northern end of the beach - called Clovelly Beach - close to the Metrorail Western Cape Southern Line rail tracks. The location provides a great view south-west down the length of the beach and beyond, and there are good places to sit to admire this.
For more information on Fish Hoek Beach, see GC77HMH Fish Hoek Beach #1: Overview.
The scenic Southern Line travels from central Cape town through the Southern Suburbs to Muizenberg (with great views west to Table Mountain) and then right along the edge of False Bay to Simon's Town. Although Simon's Town is the southern terminus, many trains terminate at Fish Hoek because the line south is only single-track.
The Cape Town - Simon's Town line is not the oldest in South Africa. A short line between Durban and the Point opened on 26 June 1860. The Cape Town Railway and Dock Company completed its line to Eersterivier on 13 February 1862, continued to Stellenbosch on 1 May 1862 and finally reached Wellington on 4 November 1863.
The Cape Town - Wynberg line began in December 1864 and was built to the Standard gauge of 4ft 8½ in. When the line was bought by the Cape Government in 1873, the gauge was reduced to 3ft 6in because of costs. It was called the Cape Gauge and has been used throughout Southern Africa ever since.
The change was put into effect in 1882 when the line was extended to Muizenberg. At first there were 
no stops between Wynberg and Muizenberg and the trains were known as the Muizenberg Flyers because of the fast journeys. Wealth resulting from the Kimberly Diamond Fields turned Muizenberg and Kalk Bay into fashionable retreats for magnates and businessmen who built opulent homes there and in 1883 the line was extended to Kalk Bay making it a popular destination for day trippers at a time when Sea Point was sparsely populated and undeveloped.
In 1889 work began to take the line through to Simon's Town. The steep and rocky coast, quicksands and river mouths had made it difficult to build even a road between Kalk Bay and Simon's Town and the journey by cart or wagon was so arduous that much traffic went by boat instead.
The completion of the line on 1 December 1890 was therefore a celebrated event. The honours were done by Cecil Rhodes - then Premier of the Cape - who rode in the first train which arrived in a bunting bedecked Simons Town. There was a parade, free train rides for the children and a grand luncheon at the British Hotel for all the dignitaries.
See here for a video of the short rail trip from Fish Hoek to Kalk Bay - passing the location of this cache!