Tag Archives: beach

Surfing Glen Beach

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Surfing Glen Beach
I'm no surfer, but it seemed like the waves at Glen Beach, next to Camps Bay Beach, were large enough to surf, but not too large to terrify newbies learning to ride a wave. You'd definitely need a wet suit on this coast, but the conditions at Glen Beach looked pretty good for those learning.

Surfer’s admiration

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Surfer's admiration
I met these two women, visitors from the Netherlands, on Glen Beach. They seemed to have captured the firm attention of the small crew of guys fresh from their early-evening surfing. :)

A busy smelly Clifton 4th

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A busy smelly Clifton 4th
I felt a little bad for first-time visitors to Clifton 4th. It's normally such a pristine beach, but ocean tides were unkind to us and an unusually-large mass of smelly kelp had washed up onto shore.

Even though many were, there was no freegin' way I was getting into that water. I only managed to stay around for half an hour before I decided that it really wasn't fun on that overly-hot, massively-crowded, somewhat-smelly beach. :(

I shall return another day. When the kelp has left our shores. :)

Clifton at peak tourist season

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Clifton at peak tourist season
Phew - lots of people hey?! We really love tourists visiting Cape Town. It's fantastic for our economy and, well, the divergent cultures and beautiful people that descend on our little city over this time is spectacularly interesting. It's a pleasure having you!

It is however sad that most tourists never get to see the calm, relaxed, and quiet beaches of Clifton and Camps Bay. I often wonder to myself if crowded and busy beaches are as all they know. It's a shame, because these beaches are spectacular from late February through to April and even May. Next time you visit Cape Town - consider coming a little later in the new year - I pretty much guarantee you'll enjoy it more than the Christmas/New Year period. :)

Beach-sand art

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Beach-sand art
I made this using a discarded plastic fork that I happened to come across while digging my hands under the sand. Eeeewe... yes.

I went to an art gallery recently and was somewhat confused by what people classify as art. I guess it's highly subjective; dependent on one's personal point of view. And that said, I rate if I could frame this piece of beach I could make a fortune. ;)

Our pretty white beach sand

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Our pretty white beach sand
The beaches along our Atlantic seaboard, stretching from Clifton, through Camps Bay and along to Llandudno, have some of the most pristine-white beach sand I've seen; except for those rare day when unusual currents drive a layer of green sea-slime (possibly a form of green algae) onto the beachfront. This was one of those days, but I kindly refrained from posting a photo of the waterline. It's a pleasure. :)

Seaside property

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Seaside property
In my previous post I mentioned that I wouldn't mind baby-sitting one of the many empty properties along the Atlantic Seaboard; even just for a little while. Given the pointing, I imagine that's exactly what the young girl on the left was proposing.

Just look at those houses, crowded onto the slopes of Table Mountain. How spectacular it must be to live there! Well, for 6 months of the year, I guess. :)

A golden-sunset beach

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A golden-sunset beach
Imagine returning from work each summer's day, to be greeted by this view?

Clifton (and our Atlantic Seaboard in general) is one of the most beautiful sea-side areas in the country - which is why the properties in this area are of the most expensive in the land. What's interesting (though not unexpected) is that most of the prime real-estate is owned by foreigners; many of whom spend only a little time in the country each year.

I wouldn't mind house sitting... just putting it out there. ;)

Clifton sunset surfer

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Clifton sunset surfer
I'm quite out of my depth, but I can only guess that that's a longboard. Would I be right?

Anyway, the haze that you see there is from the cold ocean air moving in over the land. The water temperature at the time was only 12°C - which I'm guessing is why that wetsuitless mad surfer person decided to come in to shore.

In case you're wondering, I know it was 12°C because my friend and I (he with his thermometer-watch) hit the waves for all of 4 minutes. It was very unpleasant. Cold-sandy water, with plenty of seaweed constantly wrapping around our legs.

Everybody says Clifton's a great place to enjoy the view, play in the sand, and relax on the beach - but for swimming, she was certainly not made. Now, this is mostly the case, but I have to say that if you catch the tides just right, Clifton's water can actually be reasonably warm... even approaching a swimmable 19°C! ;)