Kleinbaai is a picturesque little village nestling amongst milkwood trees and summer daisies. Its situation on the eastern side of Gansbaai, made it an ideal launching site for local fisherman to fish in the Van Dyks Baai Area, and a natural harbour for access to Dyer Island.
The original name of Dyer Island was Ilha da Fera (Island of wild creatures), so named by Portuguese seafarers in the 15th century. Dyer Island has a large colony of Brown Fur Seals (about 60 000), African Penguins and Cormorants. The furor of the island’s denizens can be heard from hundreds of meters away, with nary a space to move, must have been quite site for the weary intrepid sailors.
It is named after Samson Dyer, an emigrant from the US to the Cape Colony in 1806, who lived on the island collecting guano, which he sold to mainlanders as fertilizer. Just next to Dyer Island is Geyser Island, in between lies the infamous Shark Alley. In 1988, the two islands were named individually as Provincial Nature Reserves.
With the protection of Great White Sharks in South Africa Kleinbaai has been expanded and now is considered the “Great White Capital” of the world. This has given rise to Restaurants and a local economy geared to Great Whites, with accommodation and tours to watch and even dive in cages with the Sharks.
Overlooking Kleinbaai and the greater Van Dyks Bay area is the 18-hole Kleinbaai Golf Course with lovely vistas of the Bay.
Black Sophie
Between Kleinbaai Harbour and the Tidal pool is a Rock sticking out – locally called “Black Sophie” – named after the first madam of a brothel in the Overberg. Sophia Werner and her girls also prevented the first full-blown strike amongst guano harvesters on Dyer Island by taking pity on the men’s emotional distress!
A few decades after Dyers left the island, a group of about 40 guano harvesters working on Dyer Island became lonely and threatened to strike if something was not done to cater for their emotional needs.
At that stage, Black Sophie, a big lady “of dark complexion” managed a Cape Town inn that catered for sailors. Allegedly, both her parties and her girls were world famous. When Sophie got word of the situation on Dyer Island, she loaded her girls in wagons and rushed to the rescue of the forlorn men. After a long and difficult journey over high mountain passes, they set up a camp on the beach of present day Kleinbaai Tidal Pool. Black Sophie signaled the guano harvesters on Dyer Island with Bonfires on the Rock – and soon the Kleinbaai beach became a famous party venue and the men never spoke of a strike again!