Message to Alwyn

Tell me abt the place on the west coast calling me!! I could leave NOW for the West Coast or Karoo!

Message from Alwyn

Bagpantsboy on Sandton, there's a place on the Cape West Coast calling you.

Land without fat (part 1)

Land ‘Without Fat’ is an article I wrote for a local leisure magazine exactly 3 years ago this month. For the hell of it I thought I’d take a look at it again....

Round trips: Travelling the Cape West Coast - Land ‘Without Fat’

 Are you in Cape Town on business, with a day or two to spare? Instead of moping in your hotel room, or hanging around the very expensive Waterfront shops, why not grab a car and a map and explore for a day? Here are some suggestions...

The infamous, shrieking southeaster ripping Camps Bay that morning would have encouraged anyone to get out of Cape Town. With it gale-force and screeching under the doors the decision to head up the rugged West Coast - to explore a landscape known for its sparse beauty - was easily made.

The arrow straight R27 that skims past Milnerton is one of the roads heading off into the Cape hinterland that has lured countless pioneers and travellers before. It’s one of the wide-open roads out of Cape Town visible from countless glinting and sterile hotel room windows. It promises escape from the anthill busyness and claustrophobia of the city, especially when summer sets in.

Follow the Malmesbury signs and don’t for a minute stop looking back... because Table Mountain is undoubtedly the eighth wonder of the world.

Going north and passing Koeberg (the only nuclear power station in Africa, with an estimated further lifespan of between 30 - 40 years) on your left, there’s an immediate and dramatic sense of difference. You’re rewarded by shimmering fields of wild flowers and emerald green grass. This inspires deep gulps of tangy sea air. It’s fragrant with the fynbos straddling the no-man’s land between the Atlantic and the coast road.

(To continue...)