Llandudno

Below is the road that snakes along the 12 Apostles, towards Llandudno (named after a beach in Wales) and up to Suikerbossie (literally Small Sugar Bush), and then down into Hout Bay. Some relatives of mine live in Hout Bay, and I often went there during the school vacations in December.

Once I paddleskiied (totally impulsively) from Hout Bay to Llandudno. It took about 3 hours, and when I hit the beach, a girl was standing there, holding a frisbee, with about 4 border collies running around her. She was wearing a bit less than the girl in the picture below this one. She asked me if she could try out my paddleski and I just sat on the beach and caught my breasts, I mean breath.

The paddle to Llandudno took me through a seal colony, which is a haven for Great Whites, and an area of very big waves, and unusual wave patterns. It's called the Dungeons, and the waves can get huge if there are big enough storms out to sea. I mean Hawaii Pipeline huge. The water is also ice cold, and I remember falling into it a few times. It was harrowing at times. It was not an easy paddle. But I got to see this part of the peninsula from the seaside and it was really an amazing experience. Doing it alone is obviously a bit, some would say brave, others, foolhardy.
I decided to walk back with the board, instead of paddling back. On the steep climb out of Llandudno, the girl with the dogs came driving passed. I asked for a lift, and without stopping, she shouted cheerfully, "There's no space."
She was driving a bakkie (pickup) so I was not impressed.

The walk out of Llandudno and down the other side, yes I walked the whole way, took about an hour and a half, and once down in Hout Bay, I bundu bashed my way from the point where the Disa River intersects the main road (to Constantia) to where it flows out into the sea. I saw a few horseriders on the way. It was a fun if exhausting adventure.

Some time later a friend (Mark Collie, now living in Edinburgh, Scotland) and I hiked from Hout Bay to Llandudno and chopped a big chunk of time off the average hike length, since we ran most of the way. Also a tough day under the sun, but it's those days that are remembered.

Cycling is a pleasure in this part of the world, because the views are just world class.

The world's largest timed event (35 000 participants),the Cape Argus Pick'n Pay Cycle Tour (104km plus minus), also ends just off the left side of the picture.

Another good memory I have of Llandudno is waking up with someone lovely next to me, and outside was the blue blue beautiful sea and sand that Llandudno always is. I have always wanted to live in a house here, so this was a tiny peek into that.
Her place was high up, overlooking the sea, and that morning was Valentine's Day.
The relationshop ended when she threw me, playfully, into the pool, with all my clothes on. As I recall, I had a computer disk in my pocket at the time that had some valuable information on it. Something like that. I just remember after the pool thing that I didn't see her again. Maybe I didn't have a great sense of humor about it, but I was in over my head anyway. I was really poor, had no money, and I was fraternising with the ultra-rich. Maybe if I return on my steed (my Cannondale) like a knight...nah.

In an interesting little twist of fate, many years earlier my great grandfather was offered two properties in Llandudno in exchange/as payment for some paintings. Tinus de Jongh, my grandmother's father, was a pretty good artist in his time. And at the time, Llandudno was just an empty hillside, with just the beach at the bottom. No deal, and so I will have to hold out some more until I can afford a little shack that doesn't costs too many millions.

I rate Llandudno as one of the top 5 beaches in South Africa.
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