Flroence is an elegant Frenchwoman who’s husband died a few years ago, suddenly and unexpectedly. This mirror is in the lounge of their part-time home in Yzerfontein, an hour from Cape Town up the west coast and a short walk across a commonage from the beach. 

Florence was an interior decorator of naturally impeccable taste. She still is a decorator I suppose, although she doesn’t have to work. Whether one likes someone’s style is irrelevant, but an eye for detail and arrangements is almost art in itself, impossible to ignore. And while I occasionally felt like I was walking around a museum where I should take extra care, that was self-inflicted discipline, and her home remains a welcoming, light and airy happy place.

She lives partly in Seapoint,  in downtown Cape Town, 30 metres from the promenade, and partly here in this coastal holiday village. This is where the weather lives, where colours are pronounced and windblown, where the upwelling waters are cold and rich, providing life for so much and so many.

Florence made us a cassoulet that tasted glorious and had nothing to do wth the ocean, but rather enhanced the sense of a sophisticated welcome. But you can’t stay over unless you’re a friend, so I would recommend a place I know well, across the main road and up the hill, known as !Khwattu. Pronounced with a click (that few will be able to manage) rooted deep in a turbulent history – it offers walks, mountain-bike trails and a San (bushman) interpretation centre that speaks to South Africa and the Cape’s history. 

A kind gent named Martin Daiber, who has significant experience of working with San communities in Namibia, runs !Khwattu for the Swiss woman who funded and built it for the community. 

Perched on a hillside, surrounded by walks and learning, it has an eyes-wide-open view of the ocean plain and ocean beyond. it also has bush-tents down below, which lend themselves to summer.

#!!khwattu
#africanstorybook
#westerncape
#capetown
#southafrica
#coastalholidays
#southafricantourism

www.khwattu.org/