19 June 2019
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www.thevillagenews.co.za
Exciting development awaits Fick’s Pool Writer De Waal Steyn
H
istoric Hermanus landmark Fick’s Pool is set for an exciting revamp with the opening of Ficks, a brand-new restaurant.
Well-known Dutch residents Joke and Just Gonggrijp, owners of Dutchies at Grotto beach, will be opening the first phase of their new establishment on 1 September after being awarded the tender in 2017. “Ficks will bring a unique new food experience to Hermanus,” says Joke, although she does not want to reveal exactly what it is at the moment. “What we will be offering is well-known throughout Europe and especially popular in the Netherlands. And patrons can rest assured that our food will be freshly prepared and will offer an exciting variety.” Joke says the first phase of the restaurant will see the existing ablution blocks redeveloped into a kitchen, with brand-new public restrooms at the back. In front of the new kitchen, a deck will be erected underneath a Bedouin tent where the tables will be placed. The second phase, which will be completed in two years’ time, will see the tent replaced with containers. “Our aim is to create an eco-friendly, trendy establishment where patrons can come and relax while children swim in the tidal pool.” According to her, the pool and the area surrounding it will be thoroughly cleaned up. “We have started with the clean-up and were astounded by the amount of rubbish, including heaps of condoms, that had to be removed. Before we open our doors, we will ensure that the surrounding environment and pool are spotless, and it is part of our mandate to keep it that way.”
Fick's Pool in the 1940s (ABOVE LEFT) and in the 1970s (RIGHT). Joke says the tidal pool will remain open to the public and the restaurant will not interfere with access to the pool. “The deck of the restaurant will be higher than the pool and will not hamper anyone wanting to enjoy the water. It is much the same as at Dutchies; you can enjoy a delicious meal and the beach and ocean at the same time.”
ate a tidal pool that all the children could enjoy.
According to local historian Dr Robin Lee, the name Fick’s Pool can be ascribed to one of two stories. “The first is that a Mr Fick, who was the headmaster at the school in the 1930s, saw that there was a divide between the children who lived in town and seldom enjoyed the ocean and those from Voëlklip who had ready access to beaches and the sea.
Robin says in the early years after the pool was constructed, teenagers used to dare one another to swim the breadth of the slipway on the ocean side of the wall during storms, or especially if a large white shark was spotted in the area. To this day many still try and run the breadth of the wall and escape without being slammed into the water by a wave.
"He apparently persuaded the municipality in 1933 to build a wall along the slipway and cre-
“No matter the exact history, our main aim in creating Ficks was to retain the sense of place,
“The more probable story is that a fieldcornet, Abraham Fick owned the property above the slipway and swam there every morning. In time, more and more people joined him, and he convinced the municipality to build the pool and the Rotary Club to pay for it,” relates Robin.
history and environment. These three principles have guided us throughout the design process and will continue once we are up and running,” says Joke. “Part of what we must deliver are disabled toilets, which will necessitate constructing a new pathway down to the pool. This will take a lot of planning and our aim is to ensure that it blends in with its natural environment and gives easy access to those who are disabled. For the time being we will, however, ensure that access is as easy as possible, and that the natural fynbos is left undisturbed. We have already started removing many of the alien plants in the area and have replaced them with fynbos. “The idea is to ensure that a historic piece of old Hermanus is successfully incorporated into a modern setting,” says Joke.
Whale Research Institute relocated to Hermanus The University of Pretoria's Mammal Research Institute has relocated its whale unit from Cape Town to Hermanus. Members of the Mammal Research Institute were welcomed last week as new members of the Ski Boat Club by Tim Tindall, the club chairman. The whale unit (www.up.ac.za/whale-unit) is responsible for the annual southern right whale survey covering the sea from Nature’s Valley to Muizenberg. The survey is done during the first two weeks of October and last year was particularly interesting due to the much larger number of
southern right whales visiting our shores. The survey indicated the presence of nearly 700 southern right whale cows with calves between Hermanus and Witsand. This was nearly double the number expected under normal conditions. However, sightings of these animals haven’t been normal in the last couple of years. Sightings decreased dramatically in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and last year seemed to be at an all-time high since aerial surveys began in 1979. The exact reason for this is currently under investigation, but it is believed to be related to limited feeding conditions in the Southern Ocean, and an associated change in calving intervals. Simi-
lar trends have been observed in the breeding grounds of Argentina and Brazil, as well as in Australia. Dr Els Vermeulen, research manager of the Whale Unit, has a PhD in Zoology from the University of Liege in Belgium and is doing research on southern right whales and humpback dolphins which is the most endangered marine mammal in South African waters. The unit’s Chris Wilkinson is a Master’s degree candidate studying humpback whales on our East Coast. Their new offices will be in the centre of Hermanus. Els would like to share research information on our whales.
“It is better to base your discussions on known facts rather than jump to conclusions with emotional arguments,” she says. Els plans to give talks on whales at the ski boat club. The Ski Boat Club promotes sustainable and safe boat-based fishing, with a growing support for catch, measure and release. The club caters for social members as well as boat owners and fishing enthusiasts. It is based in the New Harbour and welcomes those with an interest in the environment or the fishing history of Hermanus (www. wbbsbc.co.za).
