Hout Bay is on the one hand a district south of Cape Town in the province of Western Cape in South Africa, on the other hand the name of the bay where the place is located. The original name was Hout-Bajken, in English "small wooden bay" because the settlers covered their wood needs here. Since the end of the 19th century, Hout Bay has become an important place for South African fisheries due to the huge fish population. Hout Bay was discovered as a vacation and tourist destination in the 1980s, and the proportion of non-South African residents has grown steadily since then. There are numerous restaurants, a small shopping center and the famous Bay Harbor Market, which is located directly at the harbor. A curiosity is the sign at the entrance to the town, which indicates the "Republic of Hout Bay". In Hout Bay begins the Chapman’s Peak Drive, which heads south on the Cape Peninsula and was built in 1922, one of the most spectacular coastal roads in the world.