The Local Area

Visiting the West Coast town of Paternoster, north of Cape Town, is like walking into a living painting, with colourful fishing boats, fishermen's houses, holiday homes and huge boulders overlooking the bay. Everyone meets at the local hotel to swap stories, and a beach braai of lobster and fresh local fish is tradition, with the sunset over the ocean providing the perfect setting.
Paternoster is one of the oldest towns along the West Coast and is famous for its abundance of crayfish, but is also an all year round destination famous for its traditional fisherman’s architecture and endless pristine sandy white beaches. Visitors to Paternoster delight in watching whales and dolphins frolicking in the ocean for most of the year. The town has an off-the-beaten-track feel to it, with great nature reserves and generally unspoilt marine ecosystems and sea life. Because Paternoster is a small fishing community, fresh fish is always on the menu and it is a must-see place for the day traveller around Cape Town, or indeed for anyone wishing to really get away from it all. Life could not be more relaxed than here. The coastline is in part sandy and in part rocky and inland from the town the countryside is quite arid.

There is a relatively large public beach on Paternoster Bay, complete with a unique natural rock jetty. While the water is very cold most of the year, there is plenty of sun and a large expanse of sand where locals and tourists alike can catch some rays.
The town provides a nice side trip for anyone visiting Cape Point or the nearby game reserves.

There are a number of tiny, whitewashed fishermen’s cottages that lie along the long, white beach. Small fishing vessels leave here every morning at dawn, returning at dusk with the catch of the day.

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