Exploring Hout Bay

Bay of plenty

The coastal village of Hout Bay usually conjures up images of surfers,
leisurely strolls on the beach and fish 'n chips in the harbour. Well,
not in the midst of winter as Maryke Visagie reports.

Hout Bay

 

On the day of my visit in mid-June, the Cape of Storms is living up to its name and then some. Bucketloads of rain fall out of the sky and the newspaper headlines on lampposts silently warn: "Worse weather to come". This necessarily changes the angle of the article, I lament at first, but then start pondering: Does Hout Bay offer something to cabin-fever-afflicted tourists desperate for an escape from DSTV?

When the Dutch established their colony at the Cape, they were in dire need of timber. There weren't any forests around the fort, so they turned to the wetter southern peninsula, to what they christened Houtbaai (Wood Bay). For centuries it was a sleepy fishing village, but soon its close proximity to the city made it a popular residential suburb.

Hout Bay lies 20 km south of the Cape Town CBD and the drive from Camps Bay along the Atlantic seaboard is pretty, even on a rainy day. For those approaching from the southern suburbs, it is accessible by a low pass known as Constantia Nek. First stop is Oakhurst Farm Park. The people from the Scarecrow Deli are quick to serve a cup of steaming coffee. With a fire hissing away, lush bunches of herbs pouring out of rusty wheelbarrows and a collection of characterful scarecrows, this is a cosy spot in winter for adults and children alike. It is also, I suspect, one of the only few remaining places in the country where one finds a couple of coin-operated arcade game machines, the kind that used to stand outside the corner café before the days of Playstation.

At night Scarecrow Deli doubles as Massimo's Pizza Club. This is an eatery that had been highly recommended to this glutton - for a set price (around R90) you get to sample multiple pizzas, slice by slice. Sadly, however, I learn from a note on the door that The Club is closed during June (reopening Wednesday 8 July). I'll only forgive Massimo if he'd gone back to Italy for the summer to collect buffalo mozzarella and rosa tomatoes.

Without finding out if I'm still good at Pacman, I bravely head out to the harbour. (This is just the kind of stubborn tourist I am. I recall eating ice cream in a Welsh seaside town in 8°C, just because that's what one does at the beach.) And rain be darned, I shall do it again! The Mariner's Wharf is a charming little centre with green painted timber and a gorgeous view over the bay. The seagulls are the only ones not running for cover from the open heavens, but if anything, this wharf is charming and inviting in rainy weather. There is a fish market, seafood take-out, souvenir shop and a pearl factory. I walk around the corner to Muriel's Munchies for that weather-defying ice cream and queue behind two fishermen buying half a loaf of white bread to hollow out and stuff with slap chips to make the snack traditionally known as katkoppe. The harbour is a lovely place to wander around and is a curious mix of industry and tourism, as illustrated by the gum-booted fish factory workers smoking under an awning in the company of golden-clad Kaapse Klopse (Cape Minstrals), waiting for the rain to clear up and the tourists to arrive.

By the time my ice cream is finished, the rain cleared up to the point of the Klopse warming up their percussion. Locals emerge to walk big blonde Labradors on the beach while fishermen with passion gaps yell at each other for cigarettes and I know, rain or no rain, this is still one jolly spot to be. But it is time to go, as I've spotted an interesting road sign on the way here. It is time to investigate the Republic of Hout Bay Consulate. Hout Bay was declared a "republic" in 1987, an intitiative of Stanley Dorman of the Mariner's Wharf, and it brags a national flag, anthem and passport. Cabinet posts were auctioned off, with the presumption that if you had enough money, you'd be above corruption. You can apply for your own passport at the Consulate and recived discounts at various venues.

Unfortunately Chapman's Peak Drive, one of the most spectacular lengths of coastal road in the world, remains closed for the meantime and instead, I meander towards the finer things in life. Wine, that is. Hout Bay has three options for wine lovers - Kling, Ambeloui and Hout Bay Vineyards. To visit these, you'll need to make appointments, so phone in advance. Hout Bay Vineyards does feature open days, every last Saturday in May and November, where you can picnic on the lawn and buy wine. And, of course, if you were based in Hout Bay as a holidaymaker you would be no more than 20 minutes drive from the Constantia winelands, home to such prestigious producers as Buitenverwachting, Constantia Uitsig, Groot Constantia, Klein Constantia and Steenberg.

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
• The restaurant at Chapman's
Peak Hotel (Tel 021 790 1036)
serves legendary calamari,
Kitima at the Kronendal
(Tel 021 790 8004) dishes up
crowd-pleasing Thai and other
Asian cuisine while Dunes (Tel
021 790 1876) on the beachfront
is a great sundowner spot.

• View the colourful contemporary
art in Hout Bay Gallery
(Tel 021 790 3618) also situated
in Victoria road.

• Visit the picturesque Anglican
Church of St Peter the Fisherman,
just across the road from the
Republic of Hout Bay consulate
in Main Street.

• Take a hike in the surrounding
mountains and visit the bronze
statue of a leopard at the foot of
Chapman's Peak Drive.

• Visit the Hout Bay Museum for
information on shipwrecks and
the town's history. Entry costs R5.
Tel 021 790 3270.

• Visit the wineries in the area:
Ambeloui (Tel 082 441 6039),
Hout Bay Vineyards
(Tel 083 790 4303) and
Kling (Tel 021 794 3108).

Best kept secret

Hout Bay Manor should no longer remain undiscovered by those looking for a luxury stay in the greater Cape Town area. By Christian Eedes. Hout Bay, for all the physical beauty of its setting, does not exactly spring to mind as the perfect holiday base for the discerning traveler. Until now it has been more fishing village-cum-satellite-town than centre of culinary and vinous delights. Hout Bay Manor, however, upsets those preconceptions, managing to be a boutique luxury hotel of the highest order. Upon arrival you are inclined to think that you have arrived at yet another smart but imposing 19th century Cape edifice but go inside, and you discover a wonderfully quirky interior full of flamboyant touches thanks to acclaimed designer Boyd Ferguson of Cécile & Boyd's. The hotel was re-opened in October 2007 after an 18-month refurbishment and if you prefer your accommodation in the sterile mould of the Hyatt or Hilton, this is not the place for you. Hout Bay Manor offers 21 en-suite rooms, four downstairs and 17 upstairs. What's striking is the attention to detail: room keys, for instance, come with a remote light switch which forsakes the need for stumbling around in the dark looking for illumination late at night. All age groups are welcome and consequently the set of pencil crayons supplied in the desk of each room is a charming touch. Hout Bay Manor is managed by Alexander Mueller who is also executive chef of the hotel's de luxe restaurant Pure. Here the décor is particularly whimsical, sort of King Neptune's cave, but don't let that detract from the food as there are few places in Cape Town right now that are attempting such intricate haute cuisine - pralines of foie gras done three ways with fig brioche and Gewürztraminer jelly was a particularly intricate, if rich, dish. Rates per double room from 21 July until 31 October starting from R1 830; from 1 November to 30 April next year from R3 050. To make a booking, call 021 790 0116.