Whalehaven, a 76 sqm apartment, is situated in the heart of the village, close and convenient for every jaunt. It's been renovated with style and an eye for detail. It's a warm, welcoming space, with seriously impressive views of the sea from the front of the apartment, and mountains from the back. It has oak floors in the living room and marble tiles in the bathroom. The spacious kitchen is designed for real cooking, with a gas hob, granite work-tops and every appliance you require. The sitting and dining-room furniture is comfortable country-chic with a French corner cupboard housing the TV. There is a desk and chair at which to sit comfortably and continuous wi-fi allows you to work and stay in touch. Beds are made up with 2 down pillows per person, down duvets and crisp white linen The back verandah looks up to the mountain and is equipped with French garden furniture and a gas barbecue for relaxed outdoor dining. A recently installed continuous power supply inverter and battery will ensure that the lights, TV, WiFi, and fridge/deep freeze always work, despite any electricity supply outages in the area. The power points in the walls, used for lamps or electrical gadgets, will not function during electricity outages, with the exception of two powerpoints in the bedroom which can be used to charge a computer and a mobile phone. A starter pack of the following is available: coffee, tea, sugar, milk, salt, pepper, dried herbs, tissues, roller towel, cleaning products, washing powder, and dishwasher tablets. The apartment is on the second floor of an Edwardian building. There are two flights of steps up. Parking is on the street and free. At its worst, on a hot, sunny weekend in mid-summer, parking is available within a 5 min walk. Generally, it's closer to 2 minutes! Kalk Bay is a Special Rates Area meaning that we have extra cops on the beat. The village also has security cameras that are monitored 24/. Security is therefore good but inevitably not flawless.

Guy, my husband, and I moved to this beautiful corner of Cape Town four years ago to retire. Being born and bred in Cape Town, I knew how unique and charming the Kalk Bay village was and we looked forward to enjoying the exquisite views and the laidback lifestyle. Well, the retirement didn’t happen because we built a house high on the hillside instead, and the two are incompatible! Importantly, we do have the view and one day soon, we’ll relish the lifestyle that attracts our visitors from around the world. Guy and I have both had professional careers, mine as a management consultant, Guy as a family doctor. We have three wonderful children and three enchanting grandchildren. We cherish our family and friends and truth be told, spend quite a lot of time feasting with them on our veranda with the fabulous sea view. We balance the wining-and-dining with walking on the mountain for me and paddling on the sea for Guy. Regular holidays are mandatory and France is a favourite of ours. When we travel, we look for what we hope to offer our guests here in Kalk Bay - comfort and character, in memorable, natural surroundings. And a selection of good, reasonable restaurants nearby!

Kalk Bay is a small, slightly boho village where people come to relax. Part-sleepy fishing village and part-buzzy high street, Kalk Bay’s eclectic mix of historic buildings, cobbled streets, bohemian bric-a-brac shops, vintage bookstores, art and antique galleries, quaint cafés and restaurants, colourful fishing vessels and creative locals are what makes it so charming. A good morning would likely include a swim in the sea, followed by a scrumptious breakfast, and then a walk on the mountain where the views are breathtaking, ending with a drink in a pub where waves crash on rocks just beyond the window. Come evening, after a gentle snooze and a spot of shopping, eating really well in any one of a dozen different restaurants, all within walking distance, means you've had a healthy, stress-free day! Kalk Bay is also a great base to return to after a day's outing to easily accessible local treats - Cape Point, Table Mountain, Constantia wine farms, zip-lining, any of 3 local golf courses, surfing or swimming with the penguins in Simonstown. And then there are the charming, nearby villages, Franschhoek, Stellenbosch or Hermanus, each with its own claim to fame, that will lure you into the spectacular mountains and sophisticated wine farms, or further up the coast where the whales congregate in the winter. A holiday in Whalehaven and Kalk Bay is refreshing in the deepest sense. It revives your heart, mind and spirit. But isn't that the whole point of a holiday?