Tag Archives: Stilbaai

Western Cape has largest number of Blue Flag beaches!

Camps Bay beach Blue FlagThe Western Cape has 27 Blue Flag beaches, the largest percentage of the 45 Blue Flag beaches awarded in our country in total this year. More than 4000 Blue Flag beaches have been accredited world-wide.  In addition, five marinas and six whale-watching boats were accredited, and some pilot Blue Flag beaches have been announced.  All the beaches in the Hessequa Municipality (Stilbaai, Witsand, Gouritzmond, and more) have achieved Blue Flag status.

The Blue Flag status of each beach is done by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa, based on international standards for water and beach cleanliness, water and sand quality, and environmental education and management, set by the Foundation for Environmental Education.  The number of Blue Flag beaches awarded locally is growing year on year since the beach accreditation system was introduced in our country 13 years ago.

The Blue Flag Beaches, and accredited marina and whale-watching boats, in the Western Cape are the following: Continue reading →

“A Passion for Wine & Surf”:great marketing of the Cape

A Danish photographer’s love-affair with Cape Town, and its wine, people and food, led to Linda Suhr publishing “A Passion for Wine & Surf”.

The book contains beautiful photographs of seafood, the ocean, surfers, wine-makers, winelands, and a restaurateur, with his recipes.  

 

Wine-makers Miles Mossop from Tokara, Sebastian Beaumont from Beaumont Winery, Rudi Schulz from Thelema, Duncan Savage from Cape Point Winery,  and Italian Luca Castilione, owner of Lemoncello, are featured in the book, both as passionate surfers, and as passionate wine-makers.   Other wine-makers who are profiled are Adi Badenhorst of A.A. Badenhorst, and Sebastiaan Klaasen from Vuurberg.

“A Passion for Wine and Surf is the portrait of a lifestyle.  It’s about wine-making, summertime and wide open spaces.  A beach, togetherness, a country of hope and dreams. It’s about a group of friends with roots deep in South African soils who are riding the wave of the country’s transformation.  It’s also a brief, indulgent journey into some of life’s simpler pleasures – fresh tuna on the braai, a cold glass of Chenin Blanc and the luminous beauty of vineyards on an autumn afternoon”, says the author.

“This book is my love affair with South Africa and the spirit and soul of this country.  It’s about great wines, irresistible food, soul-living and love.   It’s about hauling a battered cooler-box down to the beach sharing a bottle of wine with friends while the sun slowly sets.  These are some of the special moments that make life worth living.  It’s a celebration of spirit and an expression of my gratitude.   I hope one day you get to visit this extra-ordinary country, taste its wines, savour its food and experience its magic for yourself” she adds.

Once a year about 40 wine-makers meet at Stilbaai for a long weekend, and participate in a surfing competition, drawing parallels with wine competitions that they participate in throughout the year.

“A Passion for Wine & Surf”, Linda Suhr, www.suhrphotography.com. Available at Exclusive Books.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio www.whalecottage.com

NSRI saves baby whale

The NSRI saved a baby pygmy whale in Stilbaai earlier this week, by loading it onto its rescue vehicle, and taking it out to sea when it beached, reports The Herald.  

 

The whale had got stuck at a sandbank, and NSRI volunteers tried to get the whale over the sandbank, and to get it to swim out to the deeper waters, but the tide washed the whale back to shore.

 

Pygmy whales are rarely seen in South African coastal waters, and are one of the the smallest whale species, roughly the size of dolphins.   They are shy and usually swim on their own.

Life’s a Beach!

Cape Town has the largest number of Blue Flag beaches of all cities in the country, six of its beaches receiving the prestigious accreditation.

Nine of the 19 Blue Flag beaches are in the Western Cape, and include Lappiesbaai Beach in Stilbaai, Grotto and Hawston beaches in Hermanus, Bikini Beach in Gordon’s Bay, Mnandi and Strandfontein beaches in Strandfontein, Muizenberg beach, and Clifton 4th and Camps Bay beaches on the Atlantic seaboard, reports the Cape Times.    Four Port Elizabeth beaches have also received Blue Flag accreditation, while all six Durban beaches have lost their Blue Flag status.

Blue Flag status is awarded to 2 585 beaches in 31 countries, and evaluates the safety, amenities, cleanliness, and environmental information and management of the beaches.  The programme is expected to be expanded to the Indian Ocean Islands.