Wandering around Simon's Town

I thought we'd go for a bit of a wander today, have a break from all things foulisly fowl. Though it must be said that yesterday not only did I get charged by Papa Guinea after I kindly rescued a lost chick, but he also dive bombed me after, I'd stomped my foot at him and he'd flown onto the roof. He must have thought better of it at the last moment, because he missed my head by inches. I have a very nice Jamie Oliver recipe for guinea fowl. Papa Guinea had better watch out!

But on to other things. On the day after New Year, D and I decided to mooch down to Simon's Town, a seaside suburb about 30 minutes down the coast (depending on the traffic). Simon's Town, named after Simon van der Stel, the Dutch governor of the Cape Colony between 1677 and 1699, is the operational headquarters of the South African Navy, though these days it's claim to fame is its colony of penguins which you may remember from a previous blog post. Come and wander with me and have a peek at this gorgeously colonial seaside town.

St George's Street, the Simon's Town section of the main road that runs from Cape Town all the way to Cape Point

Simon's Town harbour - the False Bay Yacht Club is in the foreground and you can see the battleships in the background

The British Hotel on St Georges. The restaurant with the green awnings, Bon Appetit, serves sublime French cuisine.

The entrance to the British Hotel

The Central Hotel

The Reference Library

Able Seaman Just Nuisance, Simon's Town's most famous citizen.

Simonstown's most famous "resident" was a Great Dane, called Just Nuisance, who was officially enlisted into the Royal Navy as Able Seaman. "His trade was listed as "Bonecrusher" and his religious affiliation as "Scrounger", although it was later altered to the more charitable "Canine Divinity League (Anti-Vivisection)"."

The scene under the pier, this is what childhood memories are made of - fishing and more fishing.

Boats are a-bobbing

We saw this mom and her daughter fishing for their lunch from the pier... And decided we needed lunch too.

But instead of going to Bertha's Landing, a popular harbour-side restaurant...

...we went off to the Salty Sea Dog for very yummy fish and chips!

And outside we spotted this chap, selling carved guinea fowl with nodding heads. Yes, of course we bought one!

Then it was off for an amble around the little shops that line the main street.

Peering up alleyways and steps

The Lord Nelson Inn - it is thought that Nelson once came ashore in Simon's Town - the locals have never forgotten that!

The Simon's Town Superette - a local "corner shop" that harks back to another era before supermarkets and malls.

As you can imagine, we spent a lot of time browsing in the secondhand bookstore.

HMS Pickpocket - old and freshly-made junk

Peeping into the Grammy's Collection

Trinkets and treasures...



And then there was this, which really tickled me, the sign outside one of the pubs (click to enlarge).

Hope you enjoyed the virtual wander!