In the midst of local tensions, a simple visit with travellers offered a reminder of what’s worth protecting.
When a German couple, Tom and Andrea Bauernfeind, recently overnighted with us in Betty’s Bay, I was reminded how easy it is to take for granted the beauty of the place we call home. Tom had been an intern at a school where I taught twenty years ago; he is now a vice‑principal in Dortmund, and they have travelled widely. When he wrote to say they were keen to see Betty’s Bay, we invited them to stay and I set about planning a whistle‑stop tour of our favourite spots. They arrived to a champagne-bright day, the kind of weather that fills locals with pride — warm, windless, and golden.
First stop was the Harold Porter Garden. We wandered up to Disa Kloof Falls along the Dawidskraal River, the mountains rising around us, the gardens lush and generous, the sea flashing through the trees. Fresh from a trip to Costa Rica, they kept comparing the falls to that unspoilt biosphere, which made me see our own landscape with fresh eyes.
From the Garden, they set off along Rod’s Trail, sunhats and water in hand, while I doubled back, first picking up a few plants from the Harold Porter nursery for our Stony Point garden and then fetching the dog. I met them on the far side an hour and a half later, both glowing. Rod’s Trail really does offer a perfect sense of the town’s layout — mountains, fynbos, sea, all in one sweep.
Next was a swim at Bass Lake. Floating there, looking up at the Kogelberg, you feel as though you’ve slipped into a pocket of paradise. Back home for lunch, from the upstairs balcony we spotted a grysbok browsing in the wetland-property bordering Crassula, a turtle dove calling in the heat telling us to ‘work harder’, and hundreds of swallows gathering on the old telephone wires, practising their aerial manoeuvres before the long journey north.
A short stroll took our friends to the penguins, which left them utterly enthralled. Dinner was at Waaygat where they were delighted by the sophisticated ambience, the fine dining, and the easy banter with the owners.
The next morning, they swam at Main Beach, lingered over tea and cake, and then it was time for goodbyes. Andrea’s genuinely emotionally-charged parting words stayed with me: “Thank you — we will always have this special experience in our hearts.”
Betty’s Bay, you beauty. Thank you for showing up so magnificently.
And here’s the thing: in the midst of the current conservation‑versus‑development tensions, and all the politics that swirl around them, it’s worth pausing to see this place through the eyes of well‑travelled visitors who fall in love with it instantly. Their wonder reminded me — and perhaps reminds all of us — that we are extraordinarily lucky to live here. Sometimes we just need to step back and look again.
Patrick Bolttler