"A good spot to spot whales" is putting it mildly. Usually to spot a whale from the shore, you have to check the ocean, wait for a while and -maybe- see a black spot in the distance that might be a whale. No such thing in De Kelders. This is the place that the Southern Right Whales call home! You don't have to look for them. This is simply where they are between July and December. The whale you will see in abundance is the Southern Right Whale. These whales come to these shores every year to mate, give birth and play until they depart to the ice cold waters off Antarctica for the rest of the year. The whales regularly come within a few meters of the shore. Standing on top of one of the cliffs or rock formations along the ocean, you can easily spot the whales cruising by below you.

"De Kelders" is the Afrikaans name for The Caves. Numerous larger and smaller caves penetrate deep into the rock formations under the houses of De Kelders. Famous is the Freshwater cave. This is a very deep cave leading to what seems to be an underground swimming pool. Due to conservation measures this cave not open to the public at present. What the locals call "Duiwelsgat" (The hole of the Devil) is not really a cave, but therefore perhaps even more impressive. This hole that got its official name from the many pigeons that nested there ("Duiwegat") is connecting the surface of the rock formations with the ocean. Looking down into the hole (not advised for people with vertigo) you will see the waves of the ocean rolling in and out at the bottom.

The Klipgat Cave is the best known of all caves. This cave is just outside of De Kelders in the Walker Bay Nature Reserve. Some of the oldest remains of modern man (homo sapiens sapiens) have been found in this cave. Excavations in Klipgat Cave led to the discovery of stone artefacts, preserved bone tools, and human remains, left by Middle Stone Age people some 65'000 to 85'000 years ago. Other remains include some of the earliest sheep bones in the Western Cape, indicating that sheep-keeping Quena pastoralists from the later stone age were already living in the region some 2000 years ago.

The Klipgat Trail is a path meandering along the coast from Gansbaai harbour to Klipgat Cave. The trail passes various caves and rockpools and crosses a unique habitat of the rare coastal limestone fynbos vegetation. Maps and information about this 7km trail are available at the Tourism office in Gansbaai.

Where De Kelders ends, the Walker Bay Nature Reserve begins. It is a coastal reserve, managed by Cape Nature. The Walker Bay Reserve stretches along the coast for about 25km to the estuary between Hermanus and Stanford.

De Kelders is a residential area and in spite of its attractions it has been immune to large scale tourism developments. There is a restaurant and bar in De Kelders as well as a coffee shop overlooking the bay. De Kelders has several guesthouses and B&B's of which many are situated right on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. If you decide to stay in De Kelders, you will have to get used to the idea that you will see a few whales in the morning before you had your first cup of coffee.

A protected cove, Stanford's Bay, in the middle of De Kelders is perfect for swimming. This is also the place where in modern times the first permanent coastal settlement was established in the area of the Danger Point Peninsula. In 1811 Quena-descendants erected fishing cottages next to the cove and started a thriving fishing culture in the Gansbaai area.