Café Roux in Noordhoek, perfect for families or a leisurely luncheon

Café Roux

Sarah's birth­day (see my post from Friday) con­tin­ued into Sunday because she had no idea that her won­der­ful friends had organ­ised an entire treat of a day on Saturday!  So, she'd arranged lunch at Café Roux in Noordhoek for the wider circle of chums and for the hus­bands who’d patiently watched the chil­dren while their wives were sip­ping a chilled glass of vino while hav­ing their toes painted!

Shamefully I hadn’t been to Café Roux for well over a year and it was lovely to lunch there again.  I can see why it’s such a win­ner of a venue for par­ents — the large play­ground, close enough to watch the cher­ubs but far enough away to have a decent con­ver­sa­tion with the adults makes it the ideal family-friendly res­taur­ant.  Continued

I ♥ Noordhoek because ...

I ♥ Noordhoek

Hi, I’m Chris Spengler from Afton Grove Country Retreat in Noordhoek on the Atlantic Seaboard in Cape Town.
NOORDHOEK IS BEST KNOWN FOR it’s gor­geous long beach with white sand, tur­quoise waters and tower­ing moun­tains (lovely for horse rid­ing at Sunset!), it’s hik­ing, bird watch­ing and its charm­ing, relaxed coun­try feel.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN ON Chappie’s or on horse­back near the Kakapo wreck on Noordhoek beach.
THE BEST VIEW PICTURES can be taken at sun­set from the beach or Chapman’s Peak – look­ing across the bay
OTHER HAPPY SNAPS CAN BE TAKEN AT the Noordhoek Farm Village, local vine­yards, Noordhoek Common, Silvermine ... Continued

For the Kids in August

Fun for kids

If you are look­ing at ways of keep­ing your kids enter­tained and edu­cated this August then look no fur­ther, the Noordhoek Farm Village has the answer.  And while your kids are busy hav­ing fun you can too by brows­ing around one of the shops or catch­ing up with old friends over a coffee.

The Noordhoek Farm Village is in a beau­ti­ful set­ting under oak trees and you will be able to shop, dine and relax here.  There are also a num­ber of reg­u­lar events that take place. Situated on the south­ern slopes of Chapman’s Peak Drive in the Noordhoek Valley this tran­quil farm set­ting is only a 25 minute drive from Cape Town’s city centre ... Continued

Long Beach in Noordhoek

Long Beach

There is a beach that will always take my breath away, no mat­ter how many times I’ve seen it. Long Beach, in Noordhoek, loc­ated on the Southern Peninsula of Cape Town, en route to Cape Point, is named as such for its great expanse and stretch, right through to Kommetjie. The beach is not only long, but is wide, giv­ing way to wet­lands, flora and fauna. Family, dog and horse friendly, it is always a hive of activ­ity, for loc­als and tour­ists, horseriders, surfers, run­ners and tod­dlers, each enjoy­ing their little piece of para­dise out on the per­fect white sands of this magini­fi­cent beach.

Riding on Noordhoek beach is some­thing that every­one should do in their life­time, many times over! Whether it be in the fresh morn­ing mist, or for an even­ing sun­set canter through the waves, it is an exper­i­ence of nature and beast that is unri­valled. All ages and degees of exper­i­ence are catered for with trained guides lead­ing the rides on exper­i­enced horses. Rural Noordhoek is prime horse coun­try, with many farms and small hold­ings dot­ted around the val­ley, hous­ing stud farms, racing stables, show jump­ing yards and eventers. Race horses in train­ing from Dune Stables can always be spot­ted on the beach in the morn­ings, going through their school­ing routines, before gal­lop­ing off down the seem­ingly end­less expanse of land until they dis­ap­pear from view. Continued

Arum Lily Reed Frog at Afton Grove Country Retreat

Arum Lily Reed Frog

Chris Spengler, owner of Afton Grove Country Retreat in Noordhoek — Cape Town, reports hav­ing recently found an Arum Lily Reed Frog (Hyperolius hor­stocki) on the glass pane of a din­ing door at the lodge recently.

The Red Data lis­ted spe­cies — Western Leopard Toad (Bufo Pantherinus) is res­id­ent for most of the year on the lodge grounds at Afton Grove Country Retreat. Other spe­cies that also occur at Afton Grove are: Clicking Stream Frog (Strongylopus grayii), Cape Sand Frog (Tomopterna delalandii) and Clawed Frog / Common Platana (Xenopus laevis).

"It is a long time since I have been this excited about find­ing a small 35mm long beastie like this" reports Chris. "I often hear their call & have searched amongst the Arum Lilies dur­ing winter in the nearby wet­land on a num­ber of occa­sions to find this spe­cies, but without suc­cess. To think that this little beauty actu­ally came look­ing for us!"

Continued