Paternoster

Paternoster is one of the oldest fishing settlements on the West Coast: whitewashed cottages with small windows, wooden boats pulled up on the sand, and a community that has worked this shore for generations. The name is usually explained as coming from shipwrecked Portuguese sailors praying, though nobody has documented it; an old map gives St. Martins Paternoster, and another story ties it to beads the Khoi wore. West coast rock lobster - crayfish - is the local catch, from a heavily depleted stock. The village lies about 145 kilometres north of Cape Town and has some 1,900 people; its restaurant Wolfgat has been ranked among the best in the world. The wider village has become a weekend destination for Cape Town with galleries, restaurants and a strong architectural code that keeps everything white. The beach is long, the water is very cold, and the wind blows most days.

What's there

• The white cottages - a fishing village kept uniform by an architectural code.
• The wooden boats - small craft pulled up on the sand, still working.
• The crayfish - the local catch, from a heavily depleted stock.
• The long beach - cold Atlantic water and steady wind.

When to go

August to October for the flower season inland; all year for the village. A day.

What to expect

It has gentrified sharply - restaurant prices are Cape Town level and weekend accommodation books out. The water is cold enough to limit swimming. Wind is constant.

Nearby

Cape Columbine lighthouse is minutes away; the West Coast park is south.

Key facts