Paternoster

Fortunately we managed to coincide the arrival of ourselves in Cape Town with the purchase of a new four wheel drive (Subaru XV in rust orange, for visual perspective). The mission: Drive up the R27 West Coast, check it out, drive home to Durban. First stop - Paternoster. What a pleasant and pretty place, no wonder its name begins with a "P". It looks tiny on Google maps.. and it is. But charming to boot.

There's a main road running though the little town and surprisingly it's not called "Main Road" but rather St. Augustines. This is the official road linking the 5 star boutique hotel side from the 'hood'. There are one or two other roads, but mostly crevices posing as streets. 

There's a population of around 2000 people in Paternoster. At an average of 3 people per home, we're looking at what.. 733 houses? Not even. What a gorgeous little, Greek flavoured picture of a fisherman village. The bleached white, flat roof houses with their blue window shutters and grey pebble decor will remind you of a trip to the islands of Santorini or Mykonos. For those of us who have not been there, it's a reminder of an afternoon at Flight Centre, staring at travel brochures. 

The ocean is as flat and constant as you will find in the coves of the Transkei and walking along the arched beaches in the morning brings you as close to the treasures beneath the sea as you could be without diving. Paternoster is one of two places; It's the complete break from your busy life in the Western Cape CBD or it's the gem one finds on an exploratory South African adventure. Where else in the world do you find fresh crayfish dangled in front of you on the roadside and "wes-fu**en-kus" t-shirts on display behind a bar decorated by little more than a hundred odd panties hanging from the roof?!

Where to Eat

I reckon anywhere is good, but from casual tasty pizza and burgers at "Blikkies" to Gastronomical seafood and lamb at "Gaaitjie", you have little chance of going wrong. Make a booking sooner rather than later. "The Noisy Oyster" is worth a visit and Getaway Magazine recommends a trip to "Seekombuis" for their snoek pate. Didn't make it there unfortunately, but drove past en route to the lighthouse to see what was on the other side.

Where to Stay

Close to half of Paternoster appears to be accommodation for visitors. "Aah!" is quaint, well situated and highly rated on Trip Advisor. We stayed at La Belaine self catering cottages - pretty spot on for peace, view and comfort.

What to do

Eat, drink and be merry. Sleep would be high on the agenda as well. There is kayaking, horse riding and haggling with fisherman for the more adventurous. I recommend whisky and sherry on a Sunday afternoon, alongside the sea, with a pen and a book.

One of those moments

A Stormers rugby fan and his friend, dance on their doorstep as the Saturday afternoon sun sets on Paternoster..