Saturday, August 07, 2021

Hout Bay beach

A day trip to Hout Bay to take a meal to a friend whose family is quarantined away from him;
first, we had a lovely walk on the beach in a clear midwinter day
The Sentinel mountain was facing incoming rainy weather for the next day

Sad to see the Chapman’s Peak Hotel and restaurant closed, but they are both open now, after the latest lockdown
Lovely sea views from both and great seafood at the restaurant

Great to see people out and enjoying themselves again. This looks like a lesson taking place

Lots of dogs and families enjoying the beach

And this chocolate Labrador was a wonderful retriever of her owner’s shots with the ball

An composite action photograph shows just how good she is

The sea temperature must have been sooo cold, but these children didn’t mind

Time to leave the water
We must admit that it is not somewhere we would contemplate swimming,
as the river does bring raw sewage down to the sea

"See what I have to show you Pa"

Sea reflections

Cosy blue mussels, Mytilus edulis

And white mussels, surf clam (Donax serra) are found here as well

So peaceful at noon

A close up view of the harbour and the homes of many of the local fisher folk above

A fishing boat going out to sea

A tourist boat that takes people to Seal Island
More than 20 years ago, John knew Nauticat very well, when it was sponsored by AGFA Film

and the fishing boat coming back to harbour with a crayfish catch. Winter is generally the snoek season

In synch

We have had a very wet winter (for which we are very thankful)
and we have not seen the river with so much water in it for a long time

Homes high on the hill with great bay views



One of our favourite restaurants, Dunes, to come to, meet friends and to bring overseas visitors
Simple but very good food and draught beer
We favour the upper terrace in good weather, but the lower when its windy and chilly
But not this day, we had our mind set on an Indian takeaway from the Indian Oven in the village

Sadly, the crabs on our coast never seem to get big enough to eat

What we don’t want to see on any beach, small pieces of plastic

and although the beach is regularly cleaned by the Council workers and concerned locals,
the small pieces slip through the net

Glass-bottomed Calypso, another tourist boat

Drumbeat II takes tours and is also available for charters

Heading for home

A winter picnic with fish and chips from Mariner's Wharf

And a bus load of enthusiastic young lads had just arrived
Don't know what the young miscreant on the beach had done to be chased!

The landmark bronze leopard of Hout Bay was sculpted by Ivan Mitford-Barberton who,
after creating it, donated it to the Hout Bay community
 The statue was placed on its rocky pedestal by the Divisional Council on 14th March 1963

Empty chairs and empty tables; luxury suites at the Chapman's Peak Hotel. Now open again
And we were off to buy our take away curry for our supper that night and then deliver supper to our friend

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Sunday, July 18, 2021

Clifton and Camps Bay Evenings

We went on two walks in the last week, taking advantage of gaps in the very wet wintry weather. The first started with the intention of walking through Clifton to Fourth beach but, driving there, we decided to stop and take a photograph of it from a different angle and parked near the conjunction of Kloof Road and Nettleton Road. A breathtaking view. We then decided to just continue walking along Kloof Road above Clifton to see what the sunset would look like from there

Three friends were enjoying the view from a bench, and John did spot some beverage to to enjoy while the sun set

A favourite spot for people to enjoy the sunset is from the top of Lion’s Head. You can walk up there, but it’s not for the aged and the those that cannot cope with heights. There are sections with chains to aid your ascent. You can just see people up there, even on a winter’s day. How they get down in the gloaming is a mystery, head torches presumably. Perhaps roped together? 

Planted along the roadway, a magnificent Bird of Paradise plant (Strelitzia Regina)

These are some of the most valuable properties on what is known as the Platinum Coast. It is extraordinary how closely built they are, perched on the cliffs. A garage came up for sale and went for R1 000 000. Space is at so much of a premium

In the '60s, John's Godfather built one of the first houses there at a cost (then) of R250000; people questioned his sanity

We heard chirping and found a tree full of Guinea Fowl getting ready to roost for the night

So we stood and watched the sun go down right there before walking back up the hill and home for supper. The pathway was not too busy with walkers and runners but, sadly, not all the walkers were wearing masks. The rules say that well-spaced runners do not need them 

Four days later, we headed towards The Glen and Camps Bay for another walk
There are several entrances down to the beach and this one is a continuation of The Glen forest and winter stream

Rather a tropical undergrowth

One almost expects to see parrots but, of course, they are not indigenous to the Cape

Two flowers that proliferate in Winter and early Spring are the Arum and the nasturtium

and then, suddenly, sight of the thundering winter sea

Glen beach is often underwater in winter but is very pleasant in summer and much used by surfers, as the surf off the rocks is very good. However, it is very dangerous for swimming as it has many cross currents, undertows and tidal rips. There have been deaths here from people who are not familiar with the dangers of the sea 

Locals walking their dog

and others waiting on the rocks for sunset

There is great view of the back of Table Mountain, known as the Twelve Apostles; yes, there are twelve peaks

We climbed on the rocks and had a great view of Camps Bay and its beach

The numnum plant, which produces a sort of sour edible plum, aka Natal Plum or Carissa macrocarpa
It often grows near the sea and makes a rather spiny thick hedge

Looking back at Glen beach and Lion’s Head. Property here is very, very expensive and does not often come on the market. Who wouldn’t love to live here; we certainly would. It has the same advantage as Clifton, it does not get the summer South Easter wind. However, both do get the full face of our North Westerly winter wind. Camps Bay High School is behind to the extreme left, just next to where the window is reflecting the sun

It’s a wild winter sea and it roars as the waves crash on the rocks

People are only allowed to walk their dogs on Camps Bay beach at certain hours and certain times of the year. This is obviously one of them. The dogs love racing up and down the sand after being cooped up at home

You can see the cable car station at the top of Table Mountain. This is the view from its side

Sunset on the way

It’s a good beach for beachcombing, fine white sand, lots of flotsam and not a lot of jetsam

You often see photo shoots or filming on the beach
You do need a Council licence if it’s commercial activity

Evening conversations

Two exhausted dogs who had been happily tearing up and down the beach
chasing each other and a large Great Dane
It was very amusing to watch; so much energy

The clouds pinking up as the sun gets lower. When Lynne first came back from London for a look in 1992,
to see if she wanted to come back, she rented a flat in Camps Bay and this was her evening walk
before going to the local supermarket and then home to make supper. Great memories

Whom shall I chase now?

The sun lights up the mountain

and we discovered this very strange object

and its explanation

Camps Bay beach front has many restaurants, although we do not know how many have survived the many lock downs in the last year and a half. It is extremely popular with tourists, when we get them, who want to sit, eat and drink and be merry in sight of the sea. May they be able to return soooon, the country needs them

We like the seating art piece, we can work together...


We were approached by this young man who introduced himself as Kaya from Malawi, who wanted us to see his many artworks, which he sells. His name means home, safe place or wise child in Africa. It has been a lean time for him. Sadly we do not carry money or cards, but you can see how talented he is. He says this is his daily pitch on the sea front at Camps Bay

Our local MyCiti bus waiting to take workers home

Crazy surfers in wet suits risking the icy water and strong waves

And paragliders landing after having jumped off Lion’s Head or Table Mountain

The sunset 

Magnificent in all its glory

then the dying of the light

and time to go home

Darn, we could have used these torture machines to have a good work out. Perhaps another time .... ?

Another art work, a sofa made out of shards called Swell by Aidan Bennetts


Storm clouds gather as we 'jog' back to the car. Well, Lynne made 15 running steps before running out of puff. It was uphill. Baby steps.... We need more walks. And a container ship heads for port



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