Hooked on Arniston

Waenhuiskrans, Arniston, Kassiesbaai... It doesn't matter what you call this coastal town in the Southern Cape, there's something here for everyone.

- MARCHELLE VAN ZYL

Talk to different people and you'll find that they use different names, but Waenhuiskrans, Arniston and Kassiesbaai all refer to the same place.

Kassiesbaai is the original fishing village, with its whitewashed houses on the beach; Arniston and Waenhuiskrans refer to the holiday-town part.

So, why does this place have so many names?

“In the 1970s, residents voted to decide on the name of the town,” says Hannes van Zyl, who has been spending his holidays here for nearly 25 years. We're chatting in their house in Uys Street, which was once the first hotel in the village. “Waenhuiskrans won. But, in the spirit of community, they registered the runner-up as well. It’s the only town in the country with two official names, both still in use.” Indeed, you'll see both names on the sign as you drive in: Waenhuiskrans/Arniston.

“It doesn’t really matter which one you use,” says Tracey Bastiaan, when I later talk to her and Eveline Johannes, vice chairperson of the Fishermen's Union in Kassiesbaai, at the union’s hall opposite the harbour. Tracey was born here and is currently visiting family. “Whatever rolls off the tongue first is fine.”

Eveline agrees, and quotes a well-known song: “All we know is: Kassiesbaai is ’n lekker baai!”

The origin of the names? The Arniston one goes back to the treacherous maritime history of this section of coastline, where as many as 40 ships met their demise between 1673 and 1902. (If the wind is howling and you need an indoor activity, visit the Shipwreck Museum in nearby Bredasdorp.) Most of the ships that rounded the tip of Africa in those years used basic navigation tools. When they encountered storms or dense fog, it was easy to miscalculate and they often came to grief on the sharp limestone rock shelves that jut into the sea like fingers.

The most famous tragedy involved the