Well it seems my good intentions so far have come to nought. How on earth do I make this a habit to keep my blog updated. 

And now I am at a kind of cross roads. AtlanticSunsets is both in Port Owen and Cape Town. After a seriously bad tenant experience at my Cape Town apartment, Atlantica, in which I managed to evict a tenant who it transpired was a Nigerian drug lord just days before lockdown I am now a little frightened to have another long term tenant there while our government still has a pandemic attitude and moratorium on evictions. The druglord tenant whom I managed to get rid of with three days to spare left my apartment absolutely trashed.
 

Not sure if it was due to the way he lived, or if it was malicious damage, but either way I had no way of letting myself or anyone else live there after he departed without a major renovation. The bath was black - maybe from producing dagga oil in it? Tiles ripped off the bathroom walls. Toilet cracked around the base. Floor tiles broken in the kitchen and much more. The entire bathroom, guest toilet, and kitchen had to be ripped out and almost the entire floor had to be replaced.

 

But on the plus side, I now had my property back from Dolly who hadn't been paying rent nor the exhorbitant electricity usage (I guess he was using R1500 electricity per month to run the big aircons to dry all the big bales of wet dagga he was bringing in from his farm at Philadelphia?

And I still had the most amazing view anyone could wish for, but we were going into lockdown, supposedly for 3 weeks although it stretched out to quite a few months, so I couldn't even start thinking about repairs or renovations until the government started relaxing lockdown and travel restrictions in about August 2020

 

Early morning walk at Rooibaai

Getting up early and leaving my house in the almost dark frequently pays off with wonderful sunrises, or even just pretty colours in the sky and reflecting onto the water. 







 
Frequently there are pretty colours in the sky on the opposite side of sunrise. This morning was the bonus of pretty clouds in the south & western skies, and double bonus of a moon that is just past being full moon low in the sky. Sure does make the effort of dragging myself out of my nice warm bed worth it. 



 

And another year has passed.

How on earth am I going to try and remember to get blogging more regularly. I honestly missed a fabulous opportunity to record life in Lockdown, didn't I! 

We are now into June 2020 and after 3 months of draconian lockdown have moved to Level 3 allowing a lot more freedom of movement - although still no tourism allowed so my self catering business still can't earn me any income. And still no going to the beach or other public spots for photos. But here are a few of the photos I have taken through lockdown anyway. Some are "drive-by shootings" driving past on my way to or from the butcher, for example, and grabbing a shot. 



 
Some taken when we moved from level 5 lockdown which prevailed for 5 weeks, into level 4 lockdown during the month of May when we were finally allowed out for exercise between 6am - 9am.

Winter 2019

I see it is now 3 years since I last looked at my blog. I'm not very good at this blogging thing am I! There seems to be so much going on in my life, but maybe it's time to give it another try. So here are a couple of recent photos taken in July/August 2019:-

Our winters are usually pretty mild. We have those cloudy days, misty days, rainy days, and warm sunshiny days all mixed up in winter. Here is a lovely warm sunshiny winter's day, down at the local fishing harbour.




And then the following day was filled with delicious clouds, so Bokkom Laan seemed a good place to go ...
















And then we have days that are overcast and drizzling like this ....








But it's mostly sunshine and warm. Clouds are a bonus to make the sky more interesting.

Flower Season 2016

I can't believe it! Time has simply flown by. Winter has rushed past so quickly I barely even noticed it. Yes the temperatures dropped. Yes it even got quite cold at times, but once again this year we didn't get the winter rains we were hoping for. 

The early flowers in Velddrif at the old graveyard

Acres and acres of flowers at West Coast National Park

Somewhere along the road between Port Owen and Hopefield

Some detail of the fields heading towards Hopefield

On the roadside between Port Owen and our nearest large shopping centre at Vredenburg

Somehow, though, the countryside managed to green up with the bit of rain we did get, and we had a truly magnificent flower season this year. So whilst the farmers cry out for rains, and the dams are low, and we can expect even more severe water restrictions this summer, it has been a great season for the holiday visitors.

Autumn

I love autumn in the Western Cape. I love the slight coolness after the long hot dry days of summer. I love the clouds, and the contrasts of the bright sunshiny mornings, and then cool foggy mornings.

We need the wind in summer time to cool things down for us, but in autumn we have less wind and great reflections

 
 

Too late for the sunset

Sunset was looking good while I was washing the supper dishes tonight, so I decided I'd missed so many fabulous sunsets lately that I'd grab my stuff and head on down to the Port Owen Holding Jetty on the river. Well I was too late - the sun had well and truly set by the time I got there, but I got a couple of okay shots anyway.

Things to do and places to go #5:- Paternoster

Paternoster is a quaint little fishing village with loads of character on the West Coast. Google Maps informs me it is 31 minutes (39.4km) from Velddrif, but in my personal experience I would allow more like about 40 - 45 minutes. But maybe I just drive more slowly than most other people!

I believe Paternoster is one of the oldest fishing villages in South Africa. It is certainly filled with charm, with posh new houses cheek by jowl with old dilapidated fisherman's cottages. The community is still deeply entwined in fishing, the wide sandy beach is a riot of colour when all the fishing boats are in. 

(More text and photos to be added in future)

Things to do and places to go #4: Local is Lekker - Bokkom Laan

Sometimes it is great to just relax and take in some of the sights and sounds on the doorstep. Bokkom Laan is one of these places. It is only a few kilometers from the apartment and can be a great place to unwind and watch the pelicans and other birdlife.

To get to Bokkom Laan you will need to simply follow Port Owen Drive to the T-junction, then turn right onto Voortrekker Road. Follow Voortrekker Road past the municipality and post office. Past the Riviera Hotel on your right. Past the Bird Hide on your right. Just after the road narrows to one lane look out for the first turning to the right and follow this down to the river where the road turns left and becomes a gravel road. 
 







Bokkoms is dried and salted Mullet (Harder) which is a West Coast delicacy. There are numerous little Bokkom industries on Bokkom Laan as well as an art gallery, a couple of restaurants / coffee shops, etc. and some boat tours. 


 

You will sometimes be able to get up close and personal with Pelicans who have learned that there are frequently handouts of fresh fish for them from the fishermen who bring their catches in here.

 

Things to do and places to go #3: Strandloper Restaurant

A very different experience. This is not a cheap meal out. And it is certainly not a quick bite to eat. It is not a posh restaurant with comfortable chairs and linen table cloths. It is an experience. And in peak season it is an experience one has to book for, sometimes months in advance, because it is so popular. 






 
You will be on the beach near Langebaan, protected from the elements by a rough, shadecloth boma. 

You will sit on rough wooden benches and sawn off logs. You will take a picnic basket with your own wine and beers. You will arrive at midday, and expect to be there for the entire afternoon. 

You will find yourself eating hot, fresh, home made breads baked in clay ovens over a fire, with home made butter and home made konfyts. 

You will fill up on a variety of fish dishes, and lamb bredie, and crayfish, eating with your fingers, and eating from paper plates.

You will be serenaded by a local musician who would never make a living on a more formal stage, but you will love every minute of his strumming and singing.

Finally you will drink Moer Koffie from chipped enamel mugs, and actually enjoy it.

 

Things to see and places to go #2: Saldanha MTB Trail SAS Saldanha Nature Reserve

The SAS Nature Reserve in the Military grounds at Saldanha offers an MTB trail suitable for walkers and runners as well as cyclists. Although it is part of the Military area, entry is open to the public providing there is no red flag flying to indicate shooting practice. Entrance is free. The road through the veld follows the coastline so there are awesome views across the Bay, and there are some paths down to the rocky coast. It is a nature reserve, and there will be snakes so I wouldn't go bundu bashing or walking along paths where I can't see the ground in front of my feet.  When I was there in summer time I did find some ticks afterwards, so it would be a good idea to check your bodies carefully after walking through these trails. As a person who enjoys nature, and views, and surf pounding on the rocks, I found the SAS Saldanha Nature Reserve to be well worth a visit.