Coastal Christmas 12- New Year's in Paternoster

December 31, 2013

All I wanted to do to ring in the New Year this year was be on a beach with a bottle of champagne. Toes in the sand, bubbly in hand. Yes, please.  

I had heard of Paternoster briefly before we moved here- I think I must have read about it somewhere. It's the kind of place that not a lot of people have been to, but those who have been are unanimous that it is amazing. I've even heard it being credited as the Santorini of South Africa (M was skeptical, but curious enough to check it out). 

Sitting about two hours north of Cape Town at the end of a long dusty road (the same one that eventually goes to Namibia...), it's not necessarily somewhere I think we'd be able to get to super easily for a weekend, so when we started planning our Christmas trip I knew Paternoster had to make the list. And, for the record, we loved it. While there isn't an overkill of restaurants and shops, the ones that are there are worth their real-estate. And with pretty white-washed buildings lining the Atlantic shores, it's a pretty photogenic town.

It was the absolute perfect place to sip bubbly, barefoot, by the ocean. Now that's a Happy New Year!

Our accommodations: on a quiet road with a private stretch of beach just a 5-minute walk from the main part of the town.

Our path to the ocean.

I like the priorities: very little road signs in Paternoster, but no one will get lost trying to find the beach.

Crayfish, pink champagne, craft beer and a plunge pool. What else do you need to celebrate the New Year?

Watching the sun set for the last time in 2013.

Walking along the ocean on New Year's Day.

Awesome beach-front restaurant where we had a very late lunch on New Year's Day; perfect way to ease into 2014!

Seriously, every corner of this town could be on a postcard. 

This section of the beach was very popular with locals. I love all the colours and the buzz of activity. 

Bring on 2014!