Paternoster is a sought after tourist destination and is known for lobster and the white-washed fishermen’s cottages. The remarkable coastline of jagged cliffs and white boulders makes this one of the most beautiful beaches on the West Coast of South Africa. The area is a pillar in the South African commercial fishing industry.
The salt pans around Velddrif are a great place to see birds, including greater and lesser flamingos and great white pelicans. Stroll down Bokkomlaan in Velddrif and you’ll enter a different world, of fishermen, fishing boats and dried fish. If you’re a photographer or someone who likes to capture scenes on canvas, this little fishing village will keep you busy and happy, something quirky around almost every corner.
Cape Columbine nature reserve, which is 5km from town. The reserve covers an area of 263 hectare along the rocky stretch of coastline. The bay, which is part of the reserve, has many picnic spots and braai facilities. Also you may want to visit the Columbine light house located in this reserve. The Cape Columbine light house is the last manually controlled lighthouse in South Africa, it was built in 1936 on Castle Rock. It is usually the first South African lighthouse seen by ships coming from Europe. Paternoster is very quaint with unusual white washed houses, more like what you would see in the Greek islands. If you stop for lunch here, some of the local restaurants offer crayfish which is the local seasonal speciality.
Otherwise my suggestion is that you rather look at visiting one of these two following places for breakfast/coffee: Yzerfontein or Darling. Or even better Citrusdal/Clanwilliam, which is the gateway to the Cederberg, here you could have lunch and even do a quick hiking trail to view some of the bushman paintings if that is something that would interest you, look at the sevilla rock art trail – closer to Clanwilliam, which is only 4km to view most sights.
Feel free to contact Katrin (katrin.c@kabisafari.com) for your tailormade tour.