Monwabisi Strand is a resort on the edge of False Bay with wonderful views across False Bay from Cape Point to Hangklip. It is famous amongst surfers for its surf breaks, and amongst holidaymakers for having the largest tidal pool in the Southern Hemisphere.
But is has a chequered past. Monwabisi Park is the the southernmost division of the township of Khayelitsha (home to between 500 000 and 1 000 000 residents of which about half are unemployed) about 30 km from the centre of Cape Town. The resort on the windswept coast of False Bay (look at the trees in the left of the photo to see how hard the Southeaster blows here!) was built by the apartheid regime, about thirty to forty years ago, for the black inhabitants of the informal black settlements on the Cape Flats. (The "coloured" population was awarded the windswept Strandfontein Pavilion further south and the whites got the pick of all the other beautiful beaches!) The surf here is also quite treacherous and the resort remains a rather dodgy spot - don't even try going there on your own out of season as the crime rate is HIGH.It remains a wonderful tradition however, despite everything, that on Boxing Day everyone goes to the beach and if it is windy (which is about 300 days of the year!), there are "braai spots" in the sand dunes and amongst the invasive Port Jackson bush in which you can hunker down out of the Southeaster.
Never make the mistake of trying to drive along the coastal road on Boxing Day (or the Day of Goodwill which 26 December is now officially called) for it will take you hours and hours to get through the traffic. But go to absorb the wonderful atmosphere by all means.
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Cape Town Time
