Have You Been to Muizenberg Lately?

What was a well-kept South African secret is now kind of out the bag. National Geographic Adventure magazine has named Muizenberg as one of the 20 Best Surfing Towns in the world, joining such esteemed company as Byron Bay in Australia, Hanatei in Hawaii, Biarritz in France and Bukit Peninsula in Bali.

Most of us know Muizenberg as that place you pass on the road to Fish Hoek or Kalk Bay, the sleepy suburb with the eye-poppingly gorgeous train station that makes you swear next time you are here, you will definitely stop and take the Simonstown train which skirts the coast, the waters of False Bay lapping right out your coach window.

But Muizenberg’s great location, right in the corner of the bay, is probably its downfall. Anyone driving from Cape Town, on first seeing False Bay and the Hottentots Mountains on the other side, so has their breath taken away that by the time you realize it, you’re in St. James.

And so Muizenberg’s fortunes have risen and fallen.

Mostly they rose in the beginning, when people like Cecil John Rhodes and many a Randlord holidayed down here – the air was good for people with lung ailments – and the Italian diplomat Count Natale Labia for a time conjured a fantastic plan to turn it into a little Venice with canals. Over the years developers have come up with numerous schemes and promises – a cable car up the mountain was one of them – but mostly they have come to nothing.

The surfers, in the meantime, have been the one constant (as have the iconic cottages painted in their array of bright colors). Wander down the cute side streets, and you’ll find Surf Emporium and Surfstore Africa and the Corner Surf Shop. Surfing schools abound.

Out on the water on a good day, young surfers cutting their teeth on the waves will be out in their hundreds. Some days, in fact, it looks like a waterborne invasion of wetsuit-wearing people arriving on their stomachs, rollin in on the waves. This is where their fathers learned how to surf, and where they will learn.

In its list of the 20 Best Surfing towns, NatGeo Adventure says Muizenberg’s Surfers Corner is best for beginner surfers looking for a safe and inviting environment “to get their toes wet in the world of surfing.”

A quote by Tim Conibear, founder of Isiqalo, a Cape Town organisation that teaches kids from low-income neighborhoods to surf, is worth adding here, if only to sum up the camaraderie at Muizenberg and what makes it what it is…

“Muizenberg is the best ‘learn to surf’ beach in the world,” he told the magazine. “The attitude in the water is also super-mellow, with a general acceptance of all watercrafts and abilities. Shark spotters keep you safe, so you don’t need to worry. For heavier waves, take a walk toward Kalk Bay, where there’s a serious reef. Danger Reef is also a little left-breaking wave that’s worth a stop.”

Some of the other surf towns listed in the magazine include Tofino on Vancouver Island, Canada; Taghazout, Morocco; Montauk, New York, U.S.A.; and San Sebastian, Spain.

Towns were chosen based on “the sume of their parts” – their waves, accommodation, friendly locals, restaurants and nightlife – which make them inviting to both locals and visitors. No other South African destinations featured in the list.