Smitswinkel Bay

Smitswinkel Bay

Unfortunately these photos don't do the place justice. It is absolutely gorgeous. It is quite a steep climb and not accessible by car. No Tv, No electricity, probably no phones, didn't see any lines, and Cell reception also non-existent. But what it doesn't have in mod-cons it more than makes up for in wild, exquisite beauty. 

This picture is the path that leads down to the hamlet.

A picture of the bay from sort of half way down

The veld is dotted with these flame lilies

The beach with cottages

More of the bay

The disturbance in the middle of the picture is a school of dolphins having a feeding frenzy.

We saw these dolphins on our way back driving over the pass.

We had ice cream in Simonstown, yuck!.

My dad used to make ice cream. Simonstown yacht club ice cream definitely wasn't up to scratch. If you want ice cream, the place in Kalk Bay is better, the best is in Hout Bay, and St Marco's on the waterfront for gelato.

Canon Camera

I used a Canon 400D Camera with a Canon 300mm Lens

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Argus Cycle Tour

The Argus Cycle Tour no longer goes through Kommetjie

The Argus Cycle Race now takes a shortcut through Ocean View.  Kommetjie is closed today, no entry, no exit. The race no longer goes through Kommetjie - the bends are too dangerous, too many accidents.

Spectators cheering the cyclists on at the turnoff to Ocean View.  Helicopters, Ambulances, Traffic cops, and other support people standing by to keep everyone safe and watered. 

Need a massage after the Argus Cycle Race to relieve sore muscles?
- contact me at 021 783 5303 for Kommetjie and surrounding areas.

Different faces of the Sentinel

View from the Kom

Now you see it now you don't

The Sentinel at different times of day in different weather conditions. Sometiimes very bashful and hiding behind clouds, other times brazen. The one day we caught a rainbow displaying full colours.

 Each time we leave the house it looks different. The sun can shine at sunrise, it can rain in the morning and the sun will come out in the afternoon again. Never a dull moment. I love the surprise of it. Slogging hard, then coming out and seeing the rugged beauty of the kom and its surrounding area.

Camping in the back yard

We usually go camping in December. Camping in the back yard this year, just feels as though we were on holiday again. The fact that it is in the back yard doesn't bother us a bit. We often go to Sanddrif in the Cederberg mountains.

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that the year ahead will be filled with all that is delightful, and pleasurable and that anything undesirable will disappear into the mist in nanoseconds.

Burst pipe

Water bubbling out of the ground

We had a burst pipe. Two young men to the rescue. Our local plumber putting in a new piece of pipe as the old one had sprung a leak.

Oops! somehow it lost its orientation.  You'll have to look at it squiff for now...  not in the mood to fix it.

See news about dead otter found in Kommetjie

Silke Heiss's farewell

Silke's going to Hogsback
Farewell in Longbeach with a soiree.  Lovely music, great friends, beautiful venue. A lady of many talents.  Music, poetry, writing, art, not to mention her delectable cheesestraws, and many othere accomplishments.

Click on the link to see the rest of the web album here Silke Heiss's Farewell  

To see some of Silke's artworks as featured artist on the African Arts and Crafts website

Silke, may your art bring you much joy. May your fortune take a turn for the better in all ways, for you, Paul and Kai. With love from all your friends.

Sardine run in Kommetjie

Kommetjie sardine run

We had a sardine run the last week in Kommetjie.  I heard the gulls squabbling like mad.  Thought I was teletransported back to Sea Point where the gulls are much more raucus than here...usually.  I went outside to see what was going on and it looked as if all the gulls of the planet were here, taking the sardines that the cormorants had caught, right out of their gullets, real opportunitsts.  I wrote a sms poem about it.

Nov 29, 2011
yesterday kugel gulls flocked
to Kommetjie
in droves
squabbled with locals
over sardines
stealing cormorants' catch
too lazy to dive for their own
opportunists

Today kugulls move upcoast
follow sardine run
only stragglers cause runmpus
peace returns to kom
grim clouds squal in from the south
foreboding foul weather


I went out into the kom. The water was wonderful.  I thought it would be freezing, but it wasn't cold at all.  It was extremely difficult to catch the sardines with my bare hands.  The ones I caught were trapped in the seaweed. Someone said "catch them behind the gills".  This helped as they would slip away before I could put them in the bag.  It was fun.  I fell in the water at one stage because the rocks are incredibly slippery and I wasn't looking where I was going so landed on my... you know what.  Some people were catching with nets and pulling in hundredds of them.  They have the most exquisite colours; gold, teal, metallic silver, all the irridescent green and blue hues you can imagine, with pink, orange, and brown marks too. I was so intent on catching the sardines that I got very few pictures. Wherever you looked the sky was filled with birds. I was hoping we would get a sardine run here so that I could experience it.  There was one in Houtbay the weekend before.

Check out some Sardine Recipes in my recipe blog