Granger Bay is the closest stretch of coastline to the city centre, apart from the Table Bay harbour and its V&A Waterfront, however, few people come here to visit the beach which is a narrow strip of shell and kelp-strewn sand bordered by a rocky shore. Instead, they are attracted to the area by the trendy restaurants and bars along Beach Road.
The harbour was originally built in the 1960s as part of the Louis Botha Naval Academy where naval cadets were trained for the merchant navy. It was later taken over by the Cape Technikon, which runs a maritime training facility and a hotel school in the harbour precinct.
More recently, an upmarket hotel, apartment block and office complex have been added, and a small-boat marina constructed by deepening the harbour basin, and extending the breakwater.
The Oranjezicht City Farm OZCF Market Day is held at Granger Bay every Saturday. It is a community farmers-style market for independent local farmers and artisanal food producers and they sell vegetables, fruit, bread, organic dairy products, free-range eggs, honey, and muesli. Try the delicious cooked and raw foods. Entrance from Beach Road.
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With a number of trendy restaurants and hotels with breathtaking views of Robben Island and Table Bay, Granger Bay’s major draw card is its accessibility. It is minutes from the Cape Town city bowl and beaches, and only 20 minutes’ from the airport.
Granger Bay was named after Captain Robert Granger - a merchant, shipping agent and shipowner who lived in a small house overlooking the beach where whalers once landed their catch. One stormy night in February 1857, Captain Granger saw a small schooner capsize out at sea, and immediately went to the rescue in a small dinghy, putting himself in grave danger. He saved five people while the rest were rescued by a boat from town.
Captain Granger was given an award for his bravery, and some years later, he was honoured in perpetuity when the name Granger Bay appeared on maps of the Cape.
