Mark’s parents had made a reservation for lunch at a great seafood restaurant. Called “Die Strandloper” (the Beach Walker), tt’s an hour’s drive north of Cape Town at Langebaan, and there’s normally a several week wait for a table. One the way there, we stopped at Bloubergstrand (Blue Mountain Beach) for the oft-photographed, postcard-perfect view of Table Mountain and Cape Town.
The rest of the drive was through vast swathes of the Cape’s infamous Fynbos, and passing the occasional ostrich. The restaurant far exceeded my expectations – I’d been told that it was a great seafood restaurant, but I wasn’t prepared for what I found – completely open to the air, driftwood benches and tables, fishing boats and nets and buoys all around, and an incredible view over the boulders out to sea. There was no menu, no waiters, no cutlery – just several friendly staff preparing fresh bread, and multitudes of fish, and mussel shells with which to scoop and cut. They prepared over half a dozen different fish, and mussels and crayfish, one after another, all cooked to perfection on an open fire. I wouldn’t normally consider myself a fish fanatic, but every fish tasted different and amazing. To accompany the fish were warm farm-bread loaves and various jams. Any bones were to be thrown on the rocks for the seagulls to devour (in seconds).
In the late afternoon (after we’d eaten our fill and could walk again), we returned to Cape Town to drive along the famous Chapman’s Peak Drive, along the rocky Cape Town coastline, with stunning views of bays and cliffs.