A working fishing harbour on False Bay, with wooden trawlers tied along the quay and seals on the harbour wall. Main Road runs between the railway and the sea, and the Paramount+ series 1923 filmed its Mombasa harbour scenes here.
What Kalk Bay looks like
Wooden and steel fishing boats are moored two and three deep along the quay, painted in reds, blues and yellows against the grey concrete of the breakwater. Fishermen gut snoek and yellowtail on the dock most mornings, and Cape fur seals haul out along the harbour wall for the scraps.
A single railway line runs along the edge of False Bay for the length of the village, cutting Main Road off from the water on the other side of the tracks. The road itself is narrow, squeezed between the line and the slope of the mountain, with one and two storey stone and plastered brick shopfronts along both sides.
Several of those shopfronts hold antique and vintage dealers. The occupies the building that was once the village post office, its rusted green postboxes still standing by the door. A bookshop holds a two storey painted corner further along, with a balcony over the pavement.
The sits on the rocks on the sea side of the line, overlooking two tidal pools and reached from Main Road through a subway under the tracks. Waves reach its windows at high tide.
Shot in Kalk Bay
For the Paramount+ series 1923, the harbour stood in for a Mombasa, Kenya port. Two of the show's characters leave Africa from there by boat, and the production closed the harbour to the public and filled it with old wooden boats for the shoot.
1923, 2022
Played a harbour, Mombasa, Kenya, 1923
Kalk Bay Harbour stood in for a Mombasa harbour, where the characters Spencer and Alexandra board a boat to leave Africa. The shoot closed the harbour to the public for several days in November 2022, with numerous old and traditional boats brought in and parts of the town dressed for the period. Street View
Newlyn's granite piers enclose a working quay of trawlers and gill netters at the same scale as Kalk Bay's own. Both harbours still land and sell a daily catch rather than dressing a marina to look like one. Newlyn's fleet runs to larger steel beam trawlers and its harbour is several times the acreage, so a tight frame on the older wooden boats along the inner quay holds the match better than a wide one. Try searching granite working quay now.
Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour in Western Australia
Fremantle's stone breakwater dates from 1923, close to Kalk Bay's own build. Both harbours were built to shelter a small working fleet rather than pleasure boats, and both sit against a hilly town behind the quay. Fremantle's harbour has grown wider streets and newer marina development around it since, so a frame held tight to the older stone breakwater and the boats avoids the modern edges. Try searching small working fleet now.
Lyme Regis in Dorset, England
Lyme Regis pairs a stone harbour with a high street of antique and curiosity shops in the same way Main Road sits above Kalk Bay's quay. The harbour itself is smaller and quieter, built more for pleasure boats and tourism than a daily fish landing. Lyme's Cobb harbour wall has a shape distinct enough to give the location away in a wide shot, so this match holds best on the shop-lined street rather than on the water. Try searching high street antique shops now.
