This post was originally from February 19, 2024

On Friday we left Cape Town and drove up about 2 hours up the west coast to the quiet and beautiful beach town of Paternoster. Paternoster is one of the oldest fishing villages on South Africa’s west coast. It’s known for its white-washed cottages and of course the fresh seafood. Some call it Little Greece as the rows upon rows of white cottages resembles that of the Greek islands. 

300 years ago Paternoster was known as St Martin’s Bay and the area was rich in wildlife that included hippo and leopard on the land and in the marshes to the east. The rocks offshore were rich in guano and the penguin colonies thrived. Over time people started to settle in the region and the evolution of the town named after “Our Father” grew. Fishing was abundant, guano was mined for its rich qualities as a fertilizer and whales were hunted – prime examples of man’s industrial appetite for exploiting natural reserves. Although Paternoster is a beautiful place to visit today, it is sad to think of what once existed and how it is clearly evident that it is no longer is here today due to humankind.

While in Paternoster we rented the most beautiful Airbnb cottage where we also invited Liza’s friends. It was so wonderful to catch up with them and on the first night they made us a traditional potjie over the fire. Potjie is a traditional Afrikaans dish that resembles a stew. On Saturday we spent the day walking around town visiting local shops and having lunch at one of the many quaint restaurants. One place that is unlike any other that I have seen in my life is the Paternoster Panty Bar – a small pub where underwear hangs from every inch of the ceiling!!!

Paternoster is also known for its famous crayfish. Although readily available in the local markets and restaurants, you will also see many locals trying to sell them on the side of the road. I don’t eat seafood myself, but I do question how safe it is to eat when the crayfish have been carted around town in the heat in a plastic bag of all things! I did support one local who was selling her goods on the side of the road local – she wired together shells and shaped the wire into a heart. We bought a bunch of them for gifts but as soon as we put them in the car it it was clear that these shells were straight from the ocean. Instead of an air freshener we gave our car an air UNfreshener and the smell was that of rancid dead fish!

The rest of our time in this cute town was spent wandering the beaches and enjoying being near the sea. I wasn’t brave enough to go swimming as the water was ice cold and It wasn’t sun tanning weather as the wind was insane, but it was beautiful to walk along the beach and take in all of the incredible sunsets.

On Sunday we bid farewell to the west coast and headed inland though the mountains to a small town called Tulbagh. As we drove through the mountains there were baboons running alongside the edge of the road – only in Africa right?! Tulbach is situated in the Winelands of the Western Cape and surrounded by stunning mountains as well as rivers and tributaries. This area was inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous Bushmen and Khoi-San peoples. It was about 300 years ago however, that after a land grant by the Dutch Colonial Government to the Dutch and Huguenot settlers that the town of Tulbagh was founded.

We rented an Airbnb on a farm and although it is quite beautiful, when we opened the door we soon were reminded that yes, we are on a farm surrounded by nature. The floor was covered in centipedes that roll up like a pastry when you get near them and at night there was a rodent disco happening in our thatched roof. 

The reason that we came to Tulbagh was because Liza’s longtime friend lives here. He’s an older, eccentric gentleman who is an artist. You can tell which plot of land is his as his house is brightly painted red with a massive portrait of him on the outside. As you walk into his place it is like you are literally walking into a gallery of paintings and installations made by him. I have never seen anything like it in my life. He cooked us dinner and then we went for a walk up to a waterfall. Sadly there were massive fires about a month ago so all the surrounding land is quite charred. As we walked up to the waterfall you could see life starting to peek its way out of the black, burnt land. Tufts of green grass were starting to emerge as well as little fern babies. It is incredible to see how nature can recover from something as violent as forest fires. Our world is pretty incredible right!?