Saturday, August 07, 2021

Big Bay Saturday

We needed another quick and safe escape from home and the day was really lovely for mid winter
so we headed off to Big Bay on the Blouberg shore of Table Bay for a bite of lunch

Ice cold beers!

We picked Mozambik on the seafront as we had a very good experience of their food a few years ago
when we were in Ballito in Natal for a week
They have since spread down the coast and we had heard very good reports of their food. The menu has many delights

and more

John chose the 200g rump steak with the MozBBQ glaze and some superb crisp chips
Yes breaking our Banting diet for the day

Lynne decided to have two starters which were the combo of tender baby calamari with hot and spicy Peri peri chicken livers, absolutely divine. And one we had in Ballito and never forgot, the Prawn Bilene: 6 large peeled prawns in a creamy garlic, feta and cheddar cheese sauce. We will forgive them for not putting it under the grill this time, they were very busy. It's a lovely dish. Sadly, Lynne had to break her diet too, as the sauces did need mopping up with just one of the Portuguese rolls. The other roll was donated to someone in need

Our bill. Our Zimbabwean waiter Ngoni was superb

and entertainment on the beachfront by these roving acrobats

Time to walk off lunch, so down to the beach

This skilled pilot was doing what looked very risky manoeuvres out over the sea, obviously practicing
He went straight up then did a flip turn and came straight back down again! Over and over again. Hairy to watch

The Cape in all its glory on a good warm Champagne day in late winter with temperatures up to about 23ÂșC

Surf's up

Coming straight down!

A  microlight with 2 passengers over the beach. Not enough wind for sail gliders that day

Lots of people in the water, most in wet suits

An old familiar sight on Cape Town beaches is the Ice cream man with his bell to tell you he is approaching
It was heavy work pushing the card in the soft sand

Lots of activity

Shades of blue
For those unfamiliar with Afrikaans, Blouberg means "Blue Mountain"

Riding the waves. We counted 8 large ships waiting in the Roads

It's a lovely walk on the compacted sand

Two handfuls

Wishing they could run free

Does he love her? No, he then added an N to make it Jaden, his own name

Long skeins of Sacred Ibis flying out to sea, and a few gulls

Is it a bird! No, it’s a plane!

He has the day sorted, only the shade is in the wrong place ...

We loved this picnic scene but where were the celebrating husband and wife?

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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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