With an overview of False Bay with Cape
Hangklip marking the transition to the Atlantic
Ocean, Bartolomeu Dias, the Portuguese explorer,
in 1488 first referred to the bay as "the gulf between the
mountains". Sailors returning from the east initially confused this bay with Table Bay near Cape Town because they confounded Cape Point and Cape Hangklip, which are somewhat similar in form. They thus sailed into the wrong bay. Hence the Portuguese called this point Cabo Falso or False Cape. Sailors returning from the Dutch East Indies similarly called it Valskaap, and the bay Valsbaai, Dutch for False Bay. Cape Hangklip (east) and Cape Point (west) are about 32 km apart. Hangklip is also a holiday destination with the Hangklip Hotel as a famous place for rock festivals. One man even built a house right on the front of the rocky shores and turned it into a guesthouse.