Tag Archives: beach

An interesting apparition at Camps Bay

An interesting apparition at Camps Bay
I'll be on vacation next week, and beyond all reason I managed to leave work early to head though to Camps Bay for one of the last gloriously warm summer days of the season. I say "beyond all reason" because for the last few years I've never managed to leave the office earlier than 7pm on the day that my vacation starts.

Anyway, all this is besides the point of this post's title. Isn't that an interesting apparition indeed? Any guesses as to what's happening in the photo?

A seaside reflection at Blouberg

A seaside reflection at Blouberg
Don't you love how the clouds and sky reflect on the sand as the water draws back from the beach?

Beaches like those at Blouberg are especially gifted with iconic views of Table Mountain, white sand, and just enough shells to keep things interesting. This is a lovely place to be - when it's warm and the wind isn't blowing!

An idyllic view of Table Mountain

An idyllic view of Table Mountain
i·dyl·lic
Like an idyll; extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque: "an idyllic setting".

I met a few friends for a photo walk near the Blue Peter hotel in Tableview. Well, this particular evening was less of a "photo walk", and more of a "photo stand on the beach and gawk at the spectacular views". But then, I guess you can understand why. :)

I took far too many photos of Table Mountain on Sunday evening. I'll share this one, and perhaps one more if someone asks.

A sun on the horizon

A sun on the horizon
It wasn't as dark at Camps Bay as this photo may lead you to believe. The intensity of the sun simply caused my camera to correct it's shutter to snap shut in 0.000625 seconds - so not to white-out the entire photo. Now that's pretty quick, isn't it? I can't really even comprehend 0.000625 seconds!

Wrapping up beach season

Wrapping up beach season
We're fast approaching autumn, and cooler weather is on our doorstep.

If you made a resolution to spend more time at the beach this year, and if you've failed that resolution, then you have a few warm days left. Do what you need to do - make a plan - visit the beach - you're in Cape Town folks!

Warm water at Clifton

Warm water at Clifton
Most people don't venture into the waters at Clifton - it's normally far too cold for comfortable bathing. However, for the past week or so, the water has been surprisingly warm... so much so that I actually ventured in without feeling an immediate desire to return to the warm dry beach.

Doggies at the beach

Doggies on the beach
It's a pity for dogs and dog-owners that beaches like the blue-flag ones at Clifton and Llandudno have had restrictions imposed that permit dogs on the beach only between 18h00 and 09h00 in the summer months, and then, only if the dogs are on leashes.

Dogs love to run free on the beaches, chasing balls and crashing though waves, but the reality is that there have been incidents where innocent kids have been attacked and where people who are desperately afraid of dogs have been traumatised. Since law enforcement officers aren't able to tell the difference between a dangerous animal and a friendly puppy, and since people who are afraid of dogs couldn't care if the dogs would never attack them, it makes sense to compromise in the way the City has.

For what it's worth, I took this photo after 18h00, so these friendly four-leggeds were allowed on the beach, but since they weren't on a leash I believe the owners were in fact breaking the law - perhaps unbeknownst to them.

Peninsula trip stop 6: Boulders Penguin Colony

Peninsula trip stop 6: Boulders Penguin Colony
Contrary to what Pixar would have you believe, penguins don't all live in the icy Arctic regions - we have plenty of African penguins along our shores. Two places that you'll more than certainly see penguins is at Betty's Bay, and this place, Boulders Beach.

What's awesome about Boulders Beach is that it's a regular beach where people are allowed to bathe in the sun and swim in the ocean together with the penguins. Entry to Boulders Beach is paid for and strictly controlled as not to overcrowd the penguins.

Rich, perhaps famous, on Clifton beach

Rich, perhaps famous, on Clifton beach
I don't know if the people who own these homes on Clifton beach are famous, but they certainly have to be rich (or at least know someone who is!). I took yesterday's photo in exactly the opposite direction to this one, so imagine the view that people living in these homes have each day. Isn't it just insane? Wouldn't you love a house right on Clifton beach?

If you live here, or even if you just stayed here for a few days, we'd love to know who you are. I've always been curious, so leave a comment and tell us a little about what's awesome (and what's not so awesome) about living above Clifton's beaches. Also, settle my mind, don't you worry about tsunamis?! :)

Which is your favourite beach?

Misty morning on Clifton 2nd Beach
Clifton is truly my favourite beach in Cape Town. Truth be told, its fine white sand, large round boulders, lack of kelp, absence of wind, and beautiful scenery make it my favourite of all the beaches I've ever visited.

Leave a comment and share the location of your favourite beach. Include a link to a photo and/or a Google map, as well as a short description of why it's your favourite. If you've been unfortunate enough to never have set foot on a beach - leave a comment also, we'll commiserate your great misfortune! :)

A ship stranded on Clifton beach

A ship stranded on Clifton beach
Yesterday morning Cape Town woke up to dense fog, and a Japanese fishing trawler perched on Clifton beach. The NSRI report tells the story in some detail, so forgive if I don't repeat what they've already said. :)

I visited Clifton 2nd beach at about 4pm yesterday afternoon to see a large tug stationed a couple of hundred meters from the ship with one (or two, I think) cables connecting it to the Japanese trawler. A smaller tug was making regular trips to the large tug, and a small rubber boat was used between the tiny tug and trawler. I'm guessing they were dropping off supplies and equipment.

High tide was due at 21h00 yesterday evening, at which time the large tug was due to give an almighty tug (pun and all, yes) and hopefully free the vessel from the beach before its structure gave way to the relentless battle between ocean currents and fixed land. I'm not yet sure if the rescue team managed to free the ship - I'm sure we'll hear how the operation fared once the sun comes up in the morning. I am holding both thumbs fairly tightly though.

Click here to see our full gallery of photos from Clifton 2nd beach.

A lifeguard stands watch

Lifeguard stands watch
He stood for some time, watching swimmers enjoy the last half hour in the water before the sun finally set. While watching the lifeguard watch them I wondered what drives volunteers to keep an eye over people who often don't even realise that they're there, nor appreciate the time that these heroes have offered up. Is it the camaraderie, kindness, a sense of duty? Whatever it is, it's awesome that we have people like this around.

Read more about the Clifton Surf Lifesaving Club, whose members watch over this beach, and the non-profit organisation Lifesaving Western Provice. Perhaps once you have you'll even consider becoming a sponsor. :)

Sand castles on the beach

Sand castles on the beach
A friend of ours brought candles and a sand castle mould along to the beach to build something pretty for his daughter (that's her in the middle of the photo) to marvel over. Isn't it awesome?

It's kinda tradition that in summer folk sit on Clifton beach with candles until late in the evening. It's really beautiful and something that you should try to do if you visit Cape Town around this time of the year!

The rich and their yachts

The rich and their yachts
There certainly are degrees of wealth. Some people can afford beautiful yachts, some people only to take a sunset cruise on one, while others are only able to watch from the beach.

I fit into the middle group, which (to be honest) is a fairly sizable group! In South Africa, like most other countries, we have a huge difference in wealth between the poorest and the richest. The good thing though is that it seems (to me at least) that the curve is flattening slightly. While we still have the very rich, and very poor, it seems like the wealth in the middle group has (over the last 10 or 20 years) spread out a little.

Or, fellow South Africans, is that my perception only?

Moonstruck 2012 at Clifton 4th beach

Moonstruck 2012 at Clifton 4th beach
Each year 567 Cape Talk radio hosts Moonstruck on Clifton 4th beach. A medium-sized stage is erected on the beach and about 7000 people turn up between 5 and 6pm to have fun with friends, picnic under the setting sun, and listen to live music until long after the sun has set.

In case you're wondering, Moonstruck isn't only about the awesomeness of a huge beach party. The event is run to raise money for the National Sea Rescue Institute, better known as the NSRI. I've written about the work that the NSRI do a couple of times - read more about the organisation, and how you can help, here and here.

I'll post a few more photos tomorrow, but right now it feels like my eyelids are flapping around my knees and it's become apparent to me that it's probably time call it a night. 'Night folks! :)

Hit the beach early!

Hit the beach early!
Camps Bay's busy season is in full swing. The beaches fill up quickly, the roads get congested early, and parking becomes about as scarce as friendly supermarket cashiers at Christmas time.

You may agree that these are great reasons to get to the beach super early - like before 9am! While the reasons I mention are good ones the best reason of all is that it's a good idea to get your naked skin out of the sun between 11am and 4pm.

It's easy to forget that our sun is more harsh these days than it was 10 or 15 years ago. I remember as a kid not having to pay as much attention to the sun's ravaging rays; I guess the scientists who made such a big thing of the depletion of the atmosphere's ozone layer had a point. :(

I'm not partial to leathery skin, I don't relish the thought of skin cancer, and I kinda like the look of untanned skin - which is why I always use SPF30+ sunscreen when spending time outdoors. If you don't already, it's probably a good idea for you to do the same. :)

Picnic at the beach with Cravings Delicatessen

Picnic at the beach

We're definitely not into preparing our own picnic baskets - you could say that we're a little lazy that way. ;)  So I guess you'd understand why, when Cravings Delicatessen offered us a complimentary pick-'n-choose style picnic, we naturally couldn't refuse!

We placed our order beforehand, and arrived at Cravings in Sea Point (map) at about nine-thirty; that gave us time to enjoy a cappuccino first before grabbing our breakfast picnic bag and heading down to the warm and windless Camps Bay beach. I hired a beach umbrella from one of the local operators (the best R25 that I've spent in a while) and quickly unpacked the coolerbag, while Kerry-Anne munched some yummy biltong, which her taste-savvy nose had ferreted out from among the treats packed in by Cravings.

Included in our bag of goodies was the best home-made ground chicken burger that I've ever tasted (seriously), a huge wrap that was absolutely stuffed with fresh salmon, a cheese and jam croissant, one family-sized bowl of yummy frozen yoghurt (made from plain Bulgarian yoghurt), a protein shake, a mixed fruit smoothie, dried mango strips, a packet of hot-air-roasted nuts and the bag of much-appreciated biltong (which you may be interested to know is indeed halaal!).

Cravings focuses on good, healthy food; they have a fairly large variety to choose from, so visit their website for the complete menu and price-list. They supply a light-weight cooler-bag for which they hold a R120 refundable deposit. Disposable cutlery and paper napkins are included in the bag, but do remember to bring your own blanket (or towels if you intend heading to the beach).

Beach chairs and ice-cream sticks

Beach chairs and ice-cream sticks
We've had a few warm days lately - but the full-swing of summer hasn't arrived and it sure can't come quickly enough for me. Cold is certainly no friend of mine!

Have you ever hired beach chairs? I never have - but I think I'll be doing so this summer! I can just imagine lying under an umbrella, on a beach chair, holding a well-laden ice-cream stick and sipping on a cold cooldrink.

Winter at the beach

Winter at the beach
We often have beautiful clear weather in winter days, and were it not that on these days the air temperature remained at or below 20°C you'd most likely find this beach cluttered with people.

We do so miss the sun in winter. Even though we have plenty of sunny days, there are still far too many dull and grey days for my liking. Perhaps when I'm rich one day I'll follow summer around the world. Good plan, don't you think? :)

Oystercatcher Way

Oystercatcher Way
Oystercatchers are birds that (to me) look much like a cross between a sea gull and a turtle dove. They're generally completely black, or black on top and white underneath - a little like a camouflaged combat aircraft!

This particular path is a long, narrow, winding set of stairs that lead down to Cape Town's trendy Clifton 4th beach... a buzz of a place in summer but on this clear-yet-cool autumn day, practically deserted.

After descending the many steps to the clean white sand, I decided to leave my shoes in a particular spot in order to collect them on my return. Unfortunately, on my return, they had mysteriously grown legs and walked off. I first though that someone had stolen them, but then later realised that since I'd wandered out of sight, it's completely plausible that someone in need of shoes found them and assumed that the owner had abandoned them... the beach was after all pretty deserted!

I needed new shoes anyway. :)

How to kill a dune

How to kill a dune

We've probably all heard about dune conservation, but perhaps we haven't all understood why it's important to conserve dunes. Dunes are our shore's first line of defence against the destruction caused by storms and unusually high tides. Acting as a long barrier, they reduce the chance of flooding, and in the case of severe storms, help to delay flooding. Dunes also help contain the beach sand and salty water spray from being blown inland, thereby protecting vegetation from dying due to excessive soil salinity, and preventing beaches from extending too far inland.

I'd never realised how fragile dunes were before reading this article on dune protection! Beach grass, shown in this photo, is the scaffolding used to build dunes. The grass grows, more sand is deposited, the grass grows above the sand, more sand is deposited, and the cycle continues until we have huge dunes to protect our shoreline.

The beach grass shown in this photo is extremely resilient to the elements. Like a true champ it resists drought conditions, tolerates very high levels of salt in the sand, and flourishes in very infertile soil. However, even though the grass in this photo is extremely hardy, its brittle inner core is extremely vulnerable when stepped on. Even a single person taking a shortcut across a dune kills grass on which they stand. A few people taking a shortcut across a dune will kill enough grass to cause the dune to be eroded by the wind.

Visit this site and follow the links to see the illustrations of how easily dunes erode when people trample the grass. I don't think I'll ever walk over a dune again, except by using the designated paths or bridges.

Surfing winds and weather reports

Surfers
In my experience, surfers are always chasing perfect wind and waves. I recently discovered a website that provides wind direction, speed and temperature information as well as swell information, beach webcams, and weather forecasts. Take a look at windreport.co.za - it's not the prettiest site, but it sure does have a lot of weather-related information that surfers and other outdoor-types would find useful.