A Weekend in Pringle Bay

About a month ago, we were lucky enough to take a week­end away from Cape Town and decided on the charm­ing coastal town of Pringle Bay. Apart from the fact that it rained vir­tu­ally all week­end, Pringle Bay most ably man­aged to live up to its repu­ta­tion as one of the more pop­u­lar hol­i­day towns on the Cape Whale Route. A con­servancy vil­lage, Pringle Bay lies on the Whale Coast at the foot of the rather unique Hangklip Mountain, after which the coast­line turns abruptly north into Stony Bay.

One might be only 80 kilo­metres from Cape Town, but the laid­back life­style of 'shorts and t-shirts' (or the winter equi­val­ent thereof) imme­di­ately grabs one, as if by osmosis, and being present­able is quite for­got­ten in the face of beau­ti­ful rocky shores, a pretty beach and a rather eclectic col­lec­tion of houses that undoubtedly rep­res­ents the diversity of the indi­vidu­als that make Pringle Bay their home.

Residents here are mostly retir­ees and those from Gauteng and Cape Town who have bought second homes, but there is a fair col­lec­tion of young pro­fes­sion­als pre­pared to make the com­mute to either Somerset West or Cape Town, and a smat­ter­ing of artists.

If you can, take the incred­ibly beau­ti­ful Clarence Drive – the views rival those of Chapman's Peak Drive but it's always open! It's offi­cially known as the Biosphere Coastal Clarence Drive or R44 that links Gordons Bay to Kleinmond, passing Rooiels, Pringle Bay and Betty's Bay along a steep road carved from the rocky sea cliffs.

The town falls on the fam­ous Cape Whale Route and dur­ing whale sea­son it gets rather busy, although not nearly so much as towns a little fur­ther up the coast such as Hermanus, which is why Pringle Bay has man­aged to retain its indi­vidu­al­ity. There is vir­tu­ally no traffic to speak of, and buck and baboons walk around without a care in the world. It's safe for chil­dren and crime is vir­tu­ally non-existent.

Villa Marine Guest House, where we stayed, was but a stone's throw from the sea with a deck that allows you to watch spec­tac­u­lar sun­sets (not that we wit­nessed any, given the tor­rent of water with which the heav­ens par­ted on this par­tic­u­lar week­end). We favoured the bed­room for most of the deluge and were more than grate­ful for the under­floor heat­ing, the gas fire­place and well stocked bar fridge, though the views from the room were pretty spectacular.

Eben and Susan were incred­ibly wel­com­ing and made sure we lacked for noth­ing – who could when sur­roun­ded by such lux­ury? But we did man­age to get out and there are a couple of point­ers to those com­ing to stay in Pringle Bay.

If you're after a good cup of cof­fee, infact one of the best we've ever had, then make time for stop off at Simply Coffee. We're par­tic­u­larly fussy when it comes to good cof­fee and I was a little dubi­ous when friends of ours men­tioned this little gem set in the Pringle Mingle court­yard. The cof­fee here is so scrummy that they have another busi­ness on the side, selling the beans they get in from a spe­cial­ist in Kuils River.

This is one of the best drives for whale spot­ting, there are a num­ber of places at which you can stop and look down onto the waves below. The drive meanders through the Kogelberg Biosphere, the first and only bio­sphere in South Africa to be pro­claimed by UNESCO, which only emphas­ises the beauty of the drive.

The local deli, Lemon & Lime, stock everything from homemade cakes to impor­ted olive oils, and their milk tart­lets and lemon meringue are out of this world (I know, we stopped more than once to tempt our taste buds for cof­fee, but what can you do when you're spoilt for choice?).

@365 Bistro is a 'must', if you can. Set on the vil­lage square, the menu is some­thing else and the din­ing simply out­stand­ing. The own­ers are very hands-on with Sammy at front-of-house, who explained the menu and spe­cials to us, and Morné, the mas­ter chef. Morné was kind enough to give me the recipe for his Thai Salsa. Specials were out­stand­ing, we tried the mus­sel soup / chow­der and the Seared Tuna with Thai Salsa, but the "stand­ard" menu was superb. Try the mar­in­ated duck, the mush­rooms en-croute or, to be hon­est, abso­lutely any­thing that appeals to you on the night. All dishes are good vaue for money and sure to please. We were temp­ted by Sammy to try the desserts after our first two courses and we were not dis­ap­poin­ted. The Amarula Creme Brulee and Toffee Apple Sponge were a sweet end­ing to a deli­cious meal. @365 can­not be recom­men­ded enough. Booking advised, they are very busy.

Hook, Line & Sinker is another res­taur­ant that comes highly recom­men­ded, and one at which we wanted to dine but couldn't as they were fully booked on the night (I believe you're quite for­tu­nate if you can find a table over week­ends, so get your table booked ahead of time). Hand picked fresh line fish is pre­pared over an open fire by chefs Stefan and Jacqui, which is not only fas­cin­at­ing to watch but a treat to eat. The menu is sea­sonal and depend­ent on avail­able sea­food but on any given day expect to eat a mixed plat­ter which includes some­thing like seared tuna mar­in­ated in ginger, lime­juice and cori­ander, Cajun grilled clamari, fried monk­fish and green pep­per­corn sauce and wild Mozambique prawns.

There is cer­tainly no short­age of things to do in Pringle Bay. Wish we could have exper­i­enced more ... we'll just have to go back again in Summer

Desirable Digits:
Villa Marine Guest House: +27 (0)28 273‑8081
Simply Coffee: +27 (0)28 279‑8908
Lemon & Lime: +27 (0)28 273‑8895
@365 Bistro: +27 (0)28 273‑8931
Hook, Line & Sinker: +27 (0)28 273‑8688

Useful Links:
Pringle Bay Accommodation
Cape Whale Coast Accommodation
Things To Do on the Cape Whale Coast