Splendid Simons Town — Photographs

Located on the False Bay coast­line of Cape Town, Simons Town is a his­tor­ical little vil­lage, steeped in South African naval his­tory and home to the South African Navy.  St George’s Street (also known as Simons Town’s his­tor­ical mile) has build­ings over 150 years old; among these are museums and the Church of St Francis which is believed to be the old­est Anglican Church in South Africa.

Apart from museums and his­tor­ical build­ings, Simons Town boasts won­der­ful shops, antique stores and res­taur­ants.  There is so much to do; whether it’s sit­ting at the pier enjoy­ing fresh fish and chips, book­ing a sea kayak trip, wan­der­ing the his­tor­ical mile and learn­ing about the world fam­ous dog, Just Nuisance or explor­ing the cobbled streets off the main road, you will not be bored in Simons Town. Continued

Smitswinkelbaai — far from the madding crowds

Smitswinkelbaai

Both the res­id­ents of Smitswinkelbaai (Smitswinkel Bay) and I are thank­ing our respect­ive stars for the derth of devel­op­ment that means there is still no tarred road to bring all and sun­dry in their cars down to the beach at Smitswinkelbaai (which for some unknown reason, I kept call­ing Witsminkelbaai for most of the day until my other half and son finally dug me in the ribs in des­per­a­tion and declared loudly that 'for good­ness sake, couldn't I say it properly?').

Pronunciation aside, the gor­geously secluded beach, way out of the way, has to be the most beau­ti­ful 'find' I've made in the last six months. It isn't as if we don't drive past here fairly reg­u­larly, but there are sev­eral things that keep Smitswinkelbaai from becom­ing an over­crowded haunt rather than the deser­ted little enclave it is ... Continued

Dinner at the Outspan in Kalk Bay

The Outspan

We had fam­ily stay with us over the Festive Season and with an empty fridge on our return from a week in Citrusdal the only solu­tion was to drive the short dis­tance along Main Road to Kalk Bay, park and stroll along decid­ing where to have din­ner.  We tried for a table at Live Bait but with that fully booked and rum­bling tum­mies telling us that wait­ing for a table would not be a good option we decided to try The Outspan which is on the corner of Main Road and the begin­ning of Boyes Drive (next door to the Olympia Cafe) ... Continued

The Definitive Guide to Kalk Bay

Kalk Bay

Clutching sun faded tow­els and cloaked in floaty kaf­tans, the more adven­tur­ous res­id­ents of Kalk Bay make their daily pil­grim­age down to the tidal pools that gen­er­ously grace the False Bay coast­line. Splashing in refresh­ingly cold sea water every morn­ing could be the secret to the youth and vital­ity of the people in Kalk Bay, although per­haps it has some­thing more to do with the mys­ter­i­ous atmo­sphere of abund­ance and relax­a­tion that infuses its visitors.

Morning dips in the ocean are best fol­lowed by one of Cape Town’s best cof­fees at C’est la Vie, an unpre­ten­tious French peas­ant style café with their own tiny bakery on site or at Olympia Café for a hearty deli break­fast with kip­pers and fluffy eggs. Grabbing a few sup­plies for the pantry from the charm­ing Olympia Bakery is a ritual, before return­ing home. Continued