*GORDONS BAY, GARDEN ROUTE, and BLOUBERG/LANGEBAAN

March 2006 update ……. scroll down.

February 2007 update …… even further

The West Coast, Cape Province Feb 2007

Sunny but very windy during the day and cold at night.

Sometimes overcast.

The drive from Capetown International to Shelley Point on the South African west coast takes about 2.25hrs at 130km/hr. It is quite a pleasant drive on the R85 once you get past the township/industrial area of Capetown where it can be quite hairy…I saw somebody knocked over and killed. Once you get on the R27 you can look for the 5km dirt road turnoff that short cuts you to St Helena Bay.

NB. The return drive to Capetown is; 120km 1.5hrs. Take the 5km connecting dirt road to R27

ST HELENA BAY

Mainly a commercial fishing area but the hotel is OK. It is true that the bay is well protected and seems calm most of the time.

SHELLEY POINT

This is a beautiful development and the beach which is made of very fine shells is superb. Just don’t try to swim as the water is freezing just watch the sandyachting.

The SSE wind, yes this is the west coast, is offshore and fairly warm. It could also bring the smell of the fish factories, so do check. OK. On this visit.

The beach houses are in the Greek style but have to have any swimming pool inside because of the wind. Not many have. The only facility at present is the Cattle Baron steak house which has nice bay views but the food is not all that good. It’s now closing down as there is a restaurant in the new clubhouse. There is also a golf course but it didn’t look up to much and they haven’t built the clubhouse yet. They are also supposed to be building a boat harbour …we wait and see. No sign of it yet

I popped into the sales office and found that rentals were readily available and inexpensive.

If you rent accommodation on the west coast don’t forget to check for a heater; the evenings can be cold. Also remember to take a hairdryer.

Just further along the coast is Britannia Bay which is rather more down market but does have a boat ramp in a small harbour and there is a small provisions store. Very small. There are a couple of general stores in St Helena but like most stores places in this area they don’t have any pastries, cakes or unwrapped bread.

From St Helena you can take an 8km dirt road to Paternoster a really pretty fishing village that has been gentrified. There isn’t much to do there. In the morning you could go to the market. In the afternoon you can buy a live Crayfish from lads on the roadside for £2.50 You then have to take it home and boil it for 15mins; if you’ve still got the stomach for it you can then eat it!

Talking of fish, try the Kingklip, it’s white and light.

PORT OWEN MARINA

A 30min drive from Sandy Point is Port Owen marina on the Berg River. It’s small sandy, and shallow, completely un-commercialised and has one small yacht club (not open much). And wasn’t open on Feb’07 either.You can rent a small sail boat or a canoe but beware the wind which is SSE F.3-4 They also have some interesting cottages for rent but you would need to book well ahead. Even though they have their own jetties and BBQ’s they seem a bit tatty on the outside but look to be OK inside. Real Estate wise there is an adjacent Island development that hasn’t started building yet. It might be nice but I’m unsure as this area is well out in the Afrikaans belt. How do you know? Visit the beach bop/restaurant at Liaplek or the riverside one’s at the Veldriff or Liaplek hotels(pubs) and you will see what I mean. The Berg River is long wide, sandy and shallow but it is navigable with a motor boat. The wind does set up a bit of a chop. Visited an English couple who live on the river who said there was quite a lot of English people settled in the area. The wind was still blowing hard.

SALDANA BAY and LANGEBAAN

A 40min drive away, via Vredenburg(local market town) is Saldana Bay . This is a huge harbour used mainly by a commercial fishing fleet and Iron ore freighters. The beaches are calm and quite possibly underrated (found Beach Road by turning left before you get to the centre. Nice sandy beach with plenty of parking and the occasional tea-room)but the yacht club (which is difficult to find) is not up to much and there are not many craft. I find this strange as the bay seems most suitable and is adjacent to the Langebaan lagoon. Maybe it’s just that there is no marina or facilities. The shopping centre is quite modern.

Quite a way further on by road you get to Langebaan, but first you get to Club Mykonos, a very large casino and accommodation complex which while pleasantly laid out in the Greek style suffers from the mix of people that hang out round casino’s. What you cannot fault is the adjacent marina which is quite large with modern boats and has two restaurants. I noticed however that it wasn’t frequented very much, even at weekends. Apparently it can be quite hairy getting in and out at times. On the other side of the complex is Hobie Beach which has a good music beach bar and attracts the surfing crowd. There is also another two restaurants there. They are a bit rough and ready Africaans type but to be fair I haven’t tried either of them.

Houses on the hillcrest with the windmill are sometimes available for rent but I don’t think the local facilities would be up to much. No bank or Nedbank ATM.

Drive on a bit further and you come to the Strandloper restaurant which is just a collection of fishing huts joined together with fishing nets. The food is fish stew cooked in pots from which you help yourself. You need to allow about 2 hours starting at 12:30pm. It‘s a fixed price R.150. Looks great fun if you’re with a crowd.

Finally you get to Langebaan proper, well that’s not true as you never get to Langebaan proper as the town is so spread out with new housing it is difficult to see the centre which I guess is at Main Beach. From here there is a bit of catamaran sailing on the lagoon which by the way is immense and should be thought of as an inland sea. This place should be ideal but due to the flat of the land and the poor planning it seems to have no soul and too much wind. I could be wrong. Need to spend more time=

UPDATE

If you go in March all the people have gone and so has a lot of the wind but in can now be chilly at times. There are lots of places to stay but my two favourites are … Friday Beach House which has clean but basic SC cabañas right on the beach. There is also a very friendly bar bistro. If you want to go upmarket then Gecko House, also on the beach, is very well appointed and has nice owners. I cannot tell you much about the restaurants….I tried Spinnakers, but was disappointed as the fish(Butterfish and Prawns) were not fresh enough. This happens a lot with prawns in South Africa.

The town is better serviced than I had at first thought but I don’t think there is a large supermarket or many banks or ATM’s. There are two main centres and the one by the lagoon is quite gentrified but the other, up on the main road, is rough ‘n ready. The yacht club is also a bit basic though it does have a ramp with a pontoon alongside. If your looking for quiet picnic spot/anchorage, Kraalbai on the other side of the lagoon(in the Wildlife Park) has clear calm water and sandy beaches and a loo of sorts. Hint: when you go into the park say you’re South African and you get a 25% discount.

The main thing is, wherever you’re doing, is to make sure you’re got a spot in the lee of the wind.

If you just want to cruise or laze about the wind may also make boating and sunbathing unpleasant.

Eating outside could also pose a problem ….we will see next time.

UPDATE:

Well I rented a house on Calypso Beach for a couple of weeks in February 2007 and yes the wind definitely proved to be the problem. The area around this beach and Paradise Beach, on the other side of Club Mykonis, is very pleasant with sand dunes going down to the lagoon and Mediterranean style houses all around. The wind however makes sun-bathing uncomfortable and kicks up the lagoon to make swimming difficult (but not dangerous). The town has a few more shops than I originally thought but only Pearly’s restaurant is worth eating at and there are no bars or disc’s that you would want to go to unless you like them raw. The yacht club is mainly fisherman orientated and somewhat bare but the Farmhouse Hotel alongside is worth a visit. The best scene is still at Cape Sports and Friday Island but they are both run by rather slaghaght characters.

On the drive back to Capetown you might take in Century City/Canal Walk(turn of R44 at ________) as it is a shopping centre with a difference. You’ll either love it or hate it but do take your camera.

Alternatively you could turn off to Blouberg Strand and pop into the famous Ons Huise restaurant for a bite. This used to be a lonely beach café that cooked langoustines in the open. Things change but the view over table bay of table top mountain is just as spectacular.

Without these detours, it’s about 50min to ….

CAPETOWN

If your into yacht clubs then with sundowners at the Royal Cape on a Wed or Sat evening they serve nice snacks. The trick is to find it even if you know where it is. If you want a sail on a Wed evening just ask the club secretary and she’ll introduce you to some heavy drinking cruising folk! Or some gung-ho racers but don’t expect there to be any lifejackets or VHF radio’s that work; they a rather harry casual about that sort of thing. If your lucky the engine will work.

The Long/Loop Street club scene used to be cool and play good mixes. Now it is loud, brash and seedy, at least on a Friday/Saturday night. Best try weeknights or afternoons.

No news regarding V&A waterfront area, it’s just the same but now too busy and hard to find the logo T-shirts.

Heading out to the posh part of town, Little Chelsea near Wynberg, has lost it good restaurants but still worth a quick visit as is the busy Peddlars Pub in Constantia. Constantia Mall is good for talent spotting plus there is a fashionable bar at Pasties restaurant nearby. Tea or drinks at the Alphen or Howenhout hotels is still, as usual, a class event.

Camps bay is as busy as ever with the Bay Hotel being quite upmarket. The Place on the Bay is now somewhat tired and not worth the money. Eating wise “Paranga” on the seafront is good but pricey.

The News Bar at Green Point is OK for people watching.

Precis:

Visited theV&A for T-shirts+coffee=v.busy. Toured on via Granger Bay and Clifton to Hout Bay.

Then via Chapmans peak toll road R20, to Kommekie =nice beach, no action. O/n Pelican5 Flatlet

Next day drove on to Simonstown. Nice beach at railhead and good coffee at small waterfront.

Best to visit Simonstown by sea though.

Kalk Bay, further back along the coast, is a fishing boat harbour with hippie overtones.

Muisenburg, the main town hasn't changed in 30 years, and Marina De Gama development is now too cut offfrom everything. Finally took the coast road via Strandfontein to Gordons Bay.

GORDONS BAY

A vastly overlooked place (it’s just off the Capetown maps) because it has nice beaches and TWO boat harbours. The first is pretty and has the yacht club and a great tavern. It’s also next to Bikini beach which is sheltered from the summer SSE Moderate to Fresh winds.. The second is a newly buildt housing development which would be overbearing if it weren’t for the long walkway of different bistro type restaurants and many assorted craft. There is also a free slipway with a large car park. The main beach road is a café strip that fronts onto a calm beach and the sea should be warm as it’s the Indian Ocean. I didn’t get a chance to try it as I spent most of the day looking for a future house rental but not much joy. The best I found was a luxury flat overlooking the old harbour which would be OK if they hadn’t wanted £1000 per month.

Apartments along Beach Road are plentiful but very few of them are any good from a privacy POV. Rents around £900/mth in season. The backup to Beach Road is to go up one level to Miller St. and Bay Ave. which have walk able beach access paths.

The only houses to rent seem to be higher up on the hillside or out of town, which is definitely a no-no for walking to village or beach. Only a couple had pools.

There are very few shops in GB itself; you have to go to Strand up the coast which is not a very nice place despite the name. I doubt if there is any nightlife except at bars. Cruising could be a little difficult as in one direction you have Simonstown 24nm mile(4hrs reach)) away or Cape Hangklip and beach cove surrounds at about 8nm (1.5hrs beat). Having the Hottentop Holland mountain range behind provides great shelter from the winter northwest wind and some interesting and scenic drives.

The nicest and most sheltered beachs are the little coves along Beach Road which are backed by milkwood trees and a walkway. The sea is warm enough to swim most of the time but you have to enter the water carefully as there are a lot of rocks with the sand. It is almost impossible at low tide.

The water itself can appear lightly polluted at times and at other times you have to beware of the giant jellyfish which are usually dead but could still sting one. All sounds terrible but it is in fact not too bad especially if you remember that there are no breakers to speak of. This means it’s a good idea to take a Li-lo.

Berties Landing and a dutch cafe at the New Harbour are interesting bars and there is a tremendous value Greek restaurant called the Starfish Café down one end. Forget Villa Via, like all large hotels the food is soulless and the place mostly empty. The one thing in its favour however is that it’s terrace is the most sheltered on a windy day.

Otherwise:

Tallus bar, on Beach Road is fun and the food is OK.

Il Forno, Italian is recommended but not much good when I went.

Indigo restaurant nearby is also NG

The Tavern(Old Harbour) is a bit rough and takes too long to serve the food (but it’s good and inexpensive) a better choice is The Harbour Lights restaurant but this IS expensive….

The Yacht Club welcomes visitors but it’s only really any good for a midday beer as it is not well attended.

45min /32km from Airport via N2; can be busy at Somerset W. traffic lights.

Taxi return to GB= R.250

Nearest shopping centre is Somerset West Mall which is great but you do see the odd, and I do mean odd, inbred Afrikaner balanced by a scattering of beautiful ladies…most are not.

Somerset West is also where you need to go if you want a nice hotel [Lord Charles], classy restaurants [Willowbrook Lodge][Stephanies], or nightlife. The Erinvale district has some nice pubs. Just remember it takes nearly half an hour to get back to GB. Vergelegan is a wine farm worth a visit as is Stellenbosh, up the road a bit as is the 96Vineyard on the road to Stellenbosh.

For a quick bite in town, try Manuka’s on Main Road.

If you need an inexpensive book do pop into the village book shop which is more like an Aladdin’s cave of books ….just watch out for the garlic breath of the new age Dutch owner.

HERMANUS and the OVERBURG précis:

The road to Klienmond is great for views	but the lagoon is too small for sailing
View Arabella Golf resort on Bot river	also Fisherhaven=underdeveloped but boat ramp
Bengeala wine estate development	opposite Arabella looks interesting.
Hermanus Esplanade Inexpensive	SC ex-fishermans shacks
Nice Yacht Club at Klien River lagoon	The lagoon has no boat exit to the sea.
Hermanus: Cattle Baron steak lunch	On top deck. Plenty of Bars , Discos
Seafront restaurants nice but windy	Buy presents at craft market; v.good
On drive to CT airport visit the	Houhout Hotel, Grabou for coffee

THE GARDEN ROUTE

After heading out along the N2 over Sir Lowry’s Pass, stop at the Houhook Hotel for coffee.

NB. For a longer but impressive drive go via Gordons Bay along the coast road to Klienmond (Explore Harbour Road cafes/shops). Then proceed across the Bot River, having ducked into the Arabella Golf Estate first, then up to intersect the N2 before Caledon.

After this you have a relaxed scenic drive amongst the cape farming countryside with the escarpment mountain ranges in the background. The road is quite fast and there are picnic places along the way and but watch out for speed traps on the small town approaches. There don’t seem to be any out in the countryside.

You hit the coast at Mossel Bay and if you don’t mean to go there do veer left at the turn off (if you overshoot there is another exit).

MOSSEL BAY

Stay at 85Hillside if you can. Just don’t get there when the Buffalo Motorbike rally is on!

The Protea Hotel has a good bar/restaurant. Havana and the Café in docks are worth a try.

Leaving Mossel you get to Great Brak that has a lagoon and looks nice. Further along the way is a river gorge (near George) that is pretty. From here on the traffic can be quite slow.

Wilderness is the next stop. The beaches are wild and the lakes calm but there’s not much going on. I tried the dirt roads around the lakes but you don’t discover much except the Outenniqua tiu chu!

Sedgefield despite its name looked quite interesting but I didn’t stop.

Knysna is the jewel but it can be too busy around the Main Road area. Do go down and look at the heads and also visit the waterfront attractions, especially 34 South. Just realise there is no beach here but a boat trip/hire would be good. I haven’t really said enough about this place but go there you’d like it.

GENERAL NOTES (SOUTH AFRICA):

If your going to be social do hire a mobile phone from the airport or other as even though your UK mobile will work people don’t like to phone you on a UK number (even if you are in reality paying). You can hire/buy a SIM card for peanuts.

If you do use your UK number don’t forget to tell people in SA to drop the leading zero eg. +44 7710 etc. Also remember that SA text messages cost 30p each.

You only use Email occasionally (one or twice a week if that) so use an internet café for this if you can plug in your laptop; else don’t forget your sign on passwords for any web based email.

If not actively investing, one or two 1x hour session per week with some printing will keep you on top of your banking and things. Even flight check/re-booking can be done this way; accommodation search however requires residential access as it is prolonged and requires email on a 12hr response not to mention voip phone calls.

Take a week to view diary to record events as you won’t get the time to use more. You can use the calendar in Outlook if preferred.

Do however ask for and keep all receipts as these act as an important memory jog later.

Take more photo’s especially close ups of detail.

WINES

Nederburg Merlot

Simonsig Merlot

Nederburg Curvee Brut

Nederburg Chardonnay

Nederburg Sauvignon Blanc

Nederburg Paarl Riesling

FOOD

Butter Fish

Kingklip (if fresh)

Cob

Gunter

Prawns, not frozen, must be fresh.

Crayfish, ditto.

…… you’r getting the message. It may be cheap but sometimes it’s difficult to get quality.

T-Bone steak

Malay curried lamb

Italian restaurants often serve beef as veal.

The supermarkets occasionally sell Danish pastries but in the main it huge fruit or custard tarts that look nice but are quite tasteless. In fact if you come from the UK you will notice that things are often not as tasty; especially the fruit and veg. They say the best is exported.

Never saw Haagendas ice cream.

Most confectionary is out of the question but the Linte orange chocolate and Turkish Delight are OK.

They don’t sell Typhoo tea but their Five Roses is not too bad. The tinned espresso coffee is fine.

TV and RADIO

Satellite has various dance music channels with no ad’s but in MONO

The Fashion Channel is nice to watch but all the rest are pretty hopeless.

The radio stations are OK in the evening and 3FM has a Dance/House program around 11.00pm Saturday. Take Laptop/iPod/CD music for daytime.

PHONES

Buy a SA sim card(R.3) at the airport or a shopping mall; also get a top up voucher (R.50).

Either MTN or Vodaphone will do unless you are going to use a specific data service, then ensure the card is 32kbit data enabled…most are.

Wherever possible organise a landline as “cellular” is expensive on calls. A R.30 voucher will effectively only last for 3-4 calls.

INTERNET ACCESS

If your lucky enough to have a landline then just enrol with Telkom for dial-up (pretend to be the subscriber) for R.79.00 per month. The speed isn’t too bad and they also function as the ISP.

If you are roaming from one place to another then use MWeb’s Pay as you Surf but it uses 082 numbers which will be expensive.

If you’re connecting through a GSM mobile; then use MWeb mobile which is again a pay as you go service.

Check the data rates available carefully and don’t rely on what an assistant tells you…ask them to phone HO. An EDGE connection is OK if no 3G is available which will enable you to use your mobile as a modem instead of hiring/buying an expensive PCMICA datacard. Do make sure any data cables work before departure to SA. You will need Windows XP if your going to use a laptop.

Most SA internet cafes are tacky and slow.

BANKS

Don’t talk to me about SA banks they are atrocious. They NEVER reply to email, need constant chasing up on the phone to get anything done remotely. If you go into a branch it’s much better but by the time you’ve waited 20mins to see someone any visit will take you an hour to an hour and a half.

Remember they all close at 4.0pm and earlier on Saturdays.

To open an account you have to go in, they won’t do it remotely. I use Nedbank but I explored FNB but they seemed v.Africaans orientated and seemed v. incompetent. Perhaps it might work to try Pick n’ Pay banking for every day stuff but I cannot imagine they would cope well with term deposits and electronic payments unless they have an internet offering. The problem with the latter is that all banks charge for it on a monthly basis (and you have to visit to commence it) which is uneconomic for visitors.

RENTALS

If you rent an apartment you have the unfortunate choice of being at the garden level which is very nice but you do get a lot of noise from the flat above, especially when they are on the balcony. If you have the penthouse (anything in between is a no-no) you avoid the latter but have to struggle up with bags of shopping, usually via the rear entrance which is fine only if you go everywhere by car. Talking of rear entrances, an unusual amount of noise can permeate via this, especially when the cleaners are about. And talking of noise, you feel obliged to keep the noise down all the time, especially in the evenings when all your SA neighbours go to bed at 9.30pm.

If circumstances permit, it’s a good idea to ask the owner/rental agent when last the windows, mirrors, light fittings, carpets, and bathmats were cleaned. Check also when last the kitchen draws and cupboards were cleaned out. Ask also if there is a hair drier, clothes drier, potatoes peeler, knife sharpener, and teapot. A starter pack of cleaning materials and detergents(clothes/dishwasher) should also be asked for.

CAR HIRE

Do watch out for them topping it up after you return it and do annotate any scratches/dents carefully especially under bumpers etc.

Off airport firms like COMET are little disadvantage and cost less.

FUEL

Petrol stations are few and far between in the country so fill up BEFORE you need it. It’s not self service. Talking of fuel take plenty of human fuel and water as roadhouses are similarly distant; slow down for purpose built picnic spots on the main roads as they come at you without warning.