Cape Town South Africa

Blouberg Strand (also known as Blaauwberg) is situated about 20 minutes drive up the West Coast from Cape Town on the R27. Long white beaches with perfect kite- and windsurfing conditions awaits the adventurous. From Blouberg you have a birds eye view of Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was kept prisoner during the apartheid years, a reminder of our colourful past and also of the good that has come from having our freedom. Below is a pic I took with my new digital camera.

If you haven’t totally fried yourself to a crisp this past weekend, here are a few useful tips when going to the beach in Cape Town.

• Go early! If you get to the beach after 11am, you’re going to battle to find parking.
• Take an umbrella or beach tent.
• Take sunblock of factor 30 or above.
• Try and minimise time in the sun between 10am and 3pm.
• Take a cooler bag with some cold water for rehydration.
• Don’t leave your valuables unattended on the beach, rather take turns to swim.
• Please do not consume alcohol on the beach, it’s against the law (or don’t make it obvious .
• Swim in the designated areas pointed out by the lifeguards.
• Please do no litter on the beach!

Just out of the buzz of the city lies a great stretch of beach. Often referred to as having some of Cape Town’s best surfing spots, Blouberg has lots a different spots to offer Capetonians and sun-loving travellers from abroad. Bloubergstrand is extremely kids and pet friendly. Even the restaurants (Ons Huisie and Blue Peter Hotel) are kids and dog friendly (dogs at outside seating).

The most popular stretches of beach for beach goers in this area are Small Bay and Big Bay, which is located in the old Bloubergstrand (sometimes referred to as Blaauwberg). It’s located 20-25 minutes north of Cape Town along the R27 road. At Dolphin Beach hotel (pointy roofs with bird sanctuary around it) turn left towards the beach and just keep going!

Small Bay is good for smaller kids, since it has a sheltered beach with smaller waves. It also has a small park for the kids to play in. Big Bay is a popular surf spot for learners of the sport and has a life saving facility and shop. The crowds are young and mostly surfer based. The beach is nice to lie on and gets quite busy during the summer season (around December). The nice thing about Big Bay beach is that you can walk for kilometers on end, towards Eerste and Tweede Steen.

Blue Peter Hotel is one of Cape Town’s oldest sundowner spots and is packed on every sunny day around ’sundown’ time. It has awesome pizza and many tables outside as well as a nice big lawn for visitors to sprawl out on. There’s nothing like sipping a cold one and lazily gazing out towards Robben Island with the sun setting over the horison…

The world touring volleyball circuit is doing its rounds in Cape Town on Camps Bay Beach. Camps Bay is one of South Africa’s prime beaches, located near Clifton beach (about 5 minutes away by car). The beach is pumping at the moment with thousands of visitors over the weekend. The weather’s holding up pretty well at the moment in Camps Bay.

A 2000 seater main stand as well as smaller arenas are set up and the tournament takes place from the 15th to the 27th of November 2005. The top international men’s and women’s volleyball teams will be competing, first stage (15-20th) being the women and second stage (21st-27th) the men.

Entry is free, so come early to avoid disappointment.