‘Morning Mrs Johnson!’ Kingsley Saralina calls out to a lone figure walking the drizzly Friday morning beach.
He’s been surfing these waves for eight years and knows all the regulars from afar. ‘There are three elements that make Muizenberg a good place. It’s the water, the wind and the mountain.’ He gets sidetracked by a thought and then looks at me, eyes ablaze.
Kingsley walking down the grey beach. Image by Teagan Cunniffe.
‘Do you know what the Khoi San name for Table Mountain is? It’s //Hui !Gaeb. It means ‘Where the clouds gather’.’
‘//Hui !Gaeb,’ he repeats, the name mingling with the joy rolling off him and the sound of the sea swirling around his feet. I listened to Kingsley and his love for language and Muizenberg for a while longer, enchanted by his way of speaking and wishing I had a voice recorder so that I could remember his poetic, perfect way of phrasing. He is in a good place, and standing with him, listening to him giving thanks, drew me closer towards his light.
‘M3 – Muizenberg’. That’s what all the signs say in Cape Town. If you follow them and fight your way through the one-way roadwork-induced traffic as you near the town, you’ll arrive at a quietly eclectic collection of down-to-earth characters, antique shops, creative hubs, cafés, shoppers and surfers. It’s an unpretentious mix of all types of people, withering buildings and new hotspots, and it’s on all the trend radars.
Find out what Getaway editor Sonya Schoeman and Getaway columnist Darrel Bristow-Bovey have to say about her shores in the May 2015 issue of Getaway magazine.
Left: Giving thanks in form of singing. Right: Bob’s Bagel for breakfast, bacon and avo. Yes! Image by Teagan Cunniffe.
Tiger’s Milk has taken Surfer’s Corner by storm, packing out during the weekends. Reservations are a must. Image by Teagan Cunniffe.
Tiger’s Milk at Surfers Corner, Muizenberg. Image by Teagan Cunniffe.
One of the Kalk Bay Co-ops, and the familiar railway the runs along the beachfront. Image by Teagan Cunniffe.
Delicious smells coming from Knead’s chocolate croissants. Image by Teagan Cunniffe.
Chocolate croissants at Knead – all ready to go, Muizenberg. Image by Chris Davies.
Muizenberg is a great spot for an early morning dog walk. Images by Chris Davies.
Or a quick dip at sunrise. Image by Chris Davies.
Bean Surfing. Great place for a post-surf / post-walk coffee. Image by Teagan Cunniffe.
And for a post-surf lunch, there’s Yoffi Falafel. Image by Teagan Cunniffe.
The famous coloured beach huts on at Muizenberg beach. Image by Teagan Cunniffe.
The Muizenberg beach huts just after sunrise. Images by Chris Davies.
Read more about the charm of the Southern Peninsula in our May issue, on shelves now! Click the cover below to see more from this issue.
