Just an hour’s drive from Cape Town on the rugged west coast, in a quiet bay lined with scattered rocks, is the beautiful fishing village of Paternoster.
With its quaint whitewashed houses, greenish-gray veld, and turquoise water, you’ll be forgiven for thinking you’ve ended up in a remote village somewhere on the Mediterranean coast. On the other hand, you won’t get anything more authentically South African than the local delicacy of bokkoms (dried and salted fish), the seafood version of that other very South African delicacy, biltong.
Being close to Cape Town, this predominantly Afrikaans-speaking town is a popular weekend getaway destination for wealthy Capetonians who prefer the unspoiled west coast to the more tourist-friendly south coast. In summer, the nearby Tietiesbaai Campground, in the Cape Columbine Nature Reserve, is frequented by hardy fishermen and divers.
Although the water is generally too cold for bathing, the colorful boats baking in the sun are a typical sight on the city’s unspoiled stretch of beach. On a good day you can see up to thirty boats across the bay; almost all of the humble permanent inhabitants of Paternoster are still at the mercy of the sea to provide them with food and a means of income.
Legend has it that the name of the city, which in Latin means “Prayer of the Our Father”, was given by Portuguese sailors who had problems with rough seas. Grateful to have reached the coast safely, they promised to build a church and christened the town Paternoster.
A visit to the Paternoster Hotel will give you a taste of the colorful culture of the city. The hotel’s infamous “panty bar,” with its walls and ceiling covered in women’s underwear and dirty jokes, is where you’ll find sturdy fishermen watching sports on TV while sipping copious amounts of brandy and Coke. Across the street from the hotel terrace, the locals sell their catch of the day, either legally Snoek or crawfish clandestinely (it is illegal to buy or sell west coast crawfish or rock lobster with a recreational crayfish permit).
At the end of the street is the Paternoster farm stand, where the merchandise includes a delicious variety of homemade seafood pickles such as mussels with coriander and chili or squid curry. Diagonally opposite is the charming Oep ve Koep (the name translates directly from an Afrikaans expression in typical West Coast slang as “open for shopping”) where typical kitschy tourist souvenirs are found amongst a large collection of antique enamels, glass containers and old signs.
At the beachfront market, feast on the freshest fish and chips from the Seemeeu kiosk or brave the pungent smell and shop for loads of bokkoms, a delicious substitute for anchovy.
For the perfect ending to a typical West Coast visit, make dinner reservations at the quaint Die Voorstrandt restaurant. Situated on the beach in one of the oldest buildings in the village, Die Voorstrandt offers a sampling of the freshest local seafood and unsurpassed views of the most beautiful sunset on the west coast.
