Camps Bay Accommodation & Lifestyle

Isaac and Sarah Jacobs wake up to postcard Camps Bay views every morning before playing cards on sandy white beaches - without the hassle of paying bills.

The couple are part of a group of about 30 squatters who have lived on the beach for up to 12 years, and have never budged from the scenic location.

Isaac Jacobs said they had been arrested "too many times to keep count".

The couple had been released every time, not long after they were detained.

The group spent the entire day on the beach and either spoke to each other to pass the time or played cards and dominoes, said Isaac Jacobs.

"Not the whole group is here all day, because some of them have jobs," he said.

Sarah Jacobs, who worked in Camps Bay before she was dismissed eight years ago, said they slept "wherever there is a spot" on the beach, especially near the rocks.

She said residents were unhappy that the group was living on the beach, but said they would not move until they had saved enough money to travel home.

"We were saving our money to go back to Beaufort West," she said. "Before, we didn't have money, but we have a bit now."

But the couple said they had decided to stay until they had settled a legal battle with the municipality.

They claim Metro Police officers took their clothes and other possessions when they were arrested two months ago, and did not return them.

"They can see we are struggling, but they still arrest us," said Isaac Jacobs, who is recovering from TB and a leg injury.

"All we have now is the clothes on our back.We just sit here peacefully. We don't take anything or steal, even though I am sick and can't work."

The Legal Resource Centre's Vincent Saldanha has represented the group and said the squatters had opened a case and were waiting for a reply from the City of Cape Town.

"We initially wrote a letter to the council, giving them a period of time to return the items, but they failed to do so," said Saldanha.

Marcia Schlesinger, a Camps Bay resident for 21 years, said Metro Police officers "abused" their powers by allegedly assaulting the squatters and people walking their dogs without leashes.

Src: Leila Samodien
This article was originally published on page 4 of Cape Argus on December 21, 2006

Classic Business Day gets Mick Joyce on the line from Pam Golding Properties in the Western Cape about the exorbitant rates being paid for Cape Town rentals this festive season

LINDSAY WILLIAMS: If you haven’t rented your holiday home it may already be too late. Mick, is the rental market buoyant at the moment? A few weeks ago on Summit TV we looked at holiday homes - are people actually paying the absurd rentals I’ve seen in some of the magazines?

MICK JOYCE: I think there’s always the exception - the tendency to focus on one or two examples, where people achieve really exceptional rentals for their properties over holiday season - but while the rental market has been sound and we’ve been seeing good rentals achieved, there certainly hasn’t been as many instances of extreme rentals from a few years ago. That’s probably because a lot of international visitors are returning, and are more circumspect about jumping in and renting at any price.

LINDSAY WILLIAMS: What about the local tourist? Low cost airlines are bringing down the cost of travel so there must be a lot more people from places like Johannesburg flying to Cape Town pushing up the rental market - have you found that to be the case?

MICK JOYCE: There’s always been very healthy interest in Cape Town rental properties in the season both from South African and international tourists. The suburbs along the Atlantic seaboard have always been the cream of the crop, and are probably closest to the most desirable destinations in terms of the Camps Bay beaches and Cape Town’s nightlife, and the Camps Bay strip itself. The Blaauwberg area has always been particularly popular with the Gauteng visitors, and to a certain extent while that rental market has caught up in terms of the quality of apartments available out there we tend to see that affordability often does play a role in where people target their search. The cheaper airfares have certainly seen an influx of holidaymakers, and that’s most certainly supported the rental market.

LINDSAY WILLIAMS: Our guest stockbroker earns a decent wage - he is single and wants to visit Cape Town from 21 December to 6 January, somewhere like Clifton or Camps Bay. He will crawl out of bed for bacon and eggs, then go out to lunch - after a sleep in the afternoon he will get a cab into town for some clubbing - what sort of price are we talking about for a place like I’ve just described, a two bedroom place with a sea view in Camps Bay or Clifton? Are they available and for how much?

MICK JOYCE: At this late point you will find something, but certainly in that desirable area you can pay anything from R4,000 a day upwards for a luxury property. It really does depend on which suburb and exactly the size and nature of the accessories, and the additional luxury lifestyle elements in the particular apartment.

LINDSAY WILLIAMS: If you were looking to buy a holiday home would you consider Cape Town because for a certain amount of the year when you aren’t using it yourself you can rent it out?

MICK JOYCE: The Cape Town market is still in very good condition - we’ve seen appreciation taper off to a certain extent, however we’ve had fantastic sales through the early part of the summer season and that’s definitely an indicator that people are still looking for second homes. On a cautious note we have seen places further out of town - buying holiday homes up the coast - has certainly tapered off. We will probably only be able to call that trend more accurately once the whole of the summer and holiday season is over. In the Western Cape we certainly are still seeing definite interest in holiday homes from both local as well as some international buyers.

Src: Business Day (Presenter: Lindsay Williams, Guest: Mick Joyce)

RUBBISH that filled three trucks, totalling 16 tonnes, was cleared out of Camps Bay by local organisations on Monday, 4 December. The Camps Bay Community Police Forum, which organised the clean-up, says that most of the rubbish was collected on council property.

"The question it raises is why these areas are not being cleaned regularly - is it merely out of sight, out of mind, or is it just that services are slipping in general?" asks Bernard Schäfer, chairperson of the Camps Bay CPF.

The operation also saw 12 vagrants being moved to various shelters. These 12 were vagrants who agreed to being relocated, while a number refused to leave.

In addition to the CPF, organisations involved in the operation were Bay Response, ADT, the SA Police Service, Law Enforcement, Metro Police, City of Cape Town Solid Waste Department, as well as the Cape Town Central City Improvement District. Three trucks - a 10 tonne, five tonne and a one tonner - were filled with rubbish.

Almost two-thirds of the Camps Bay precinct was covered, from the Camps Bay Police Station to Clifton Third Beach, as well as the area around Kloof Street, Camps Bay High, Central Drive and the preparatory school and crèche.

"The operation was organised in an attempt to kick-start the Camps Bay SAPS, other law enforcement bodies and the council into regularly undertaking exercises of this nature.

"It is necessary to properly cleanse what is fast becoming a dirty embarrassment to one of the best tourist attractions in the world," Schäfer says.

Derek Bock, chief operations officer of the Cape Town Central CID, says they were happy to help out as it shows the value of a CID.

"We will support anyone, from Camps Bay to Woodstock, who is battling with crime-related issues because we are closely affiliated with the Cape Town CPF, so we understand the situation."

Atlantic Seaboard Councillor JP Smith concedes that council's cleansing resources have not been sufficient, with an "inadequate" budget this year.

However, he hopes that next year?s budget will be more promising.

Smith says, though, that the beach is cleaned mechanically quite frequently during the peak season, and areas surrounding the beach are cleaned as complaints are received.

"The problem is that, after such a clean-up, only days later it looks the way it used to and people then assume the job is not being done," he says.

Smith says that since Camps Bay does not have a city improvement district of its own, criminals and vagrants come from other areas to make themselves at home locally.

There is no regular, proactive action to prevent this. Schäfer says that vagrants and even workers on building sites are regularly using bushes near the beach for their ablutions. Certain building sites do not provide their workers with the necessary ablution facilities.

"No wonder Bakoven, Camps Bay and Clifton beaches made headline news recently because of unacceptable e-coli levels being recorded consistently during routine council water testing."

The City of Cape Town stated in November that it would be erecting signs at local beaches to warn water-users of the abnormally high e-coli levels in the water.

Schäfer fears that the erection of such signs could cost beaches such as Clifton Fourth their Blue Flag status.

Abdulla Parker, head of the city catchment planning department with jurisdiction over the Atlantic Seaboard, says that 15 signs will be erected in the area by the end of the week.

Chris Willemse, chairperson of the Camps Bay Ratepayers and Residents Association, says residents of Camps Bay should be thankful to the CPF, as the clean-up project they held was "an incredibly worthwhile" operation. Willemse says the matter of not supplying ablution facilities at building sites will be taken up with building contractors.

Schäfer says another operation is planned in due course for the higher-lying areas, including the small and big Glens.

Src: Toyah Lord, People's Post (News24.com)

Foreigners are once again expressing keen interest in renting property in the Western Cape and particularly the Atlantic Seaboard this festive season, and are prepared to pay as much as R21 000 a day for exceptional properties.

As the festive season approaches, many homeowners in popular areas may be contemplating whether a small fortune can be made by renting out their homes for the peak holiday season.

Pam Golding Properties' rentals director for the Western Cape Metro region, Dexter Leite, says the holiday rental market tends to be heavily focused on the Atlantic Seaboard. He says he has noted interest from foreigners seeking rental terms of a month or two, for example in Hout Bay, where rentals vary from R1800 to R3000 per day in high season, and Llandudno where the figure can rise as high as R10 000 rand per day.

Leite adds that there has been an increase in foreign interest for the months of January, February and March, at rates of around R20 000 per month.

However, he says the chief holiday rental demand is seen in Clifton, Bakoven, Bantry Bay and Camps Bay, where owners often vacate their homes for the high season so as to maximise rental returns.

"The most popular period for these rentals is from 20 December through to 6 January, when rentals of up to R4000 per day can be achieved — although a few exceptional properties can demand as high as R21 000 per day," says Leite.

Still a market for buyers too

PGP says there is still a market for both buyers and renters of holiday homes.

PGP's MD for the Western Cape Metro region, Mick Joyce, says Cape Town's Western Seaboard remains one of the most popular areas for buyers of holiday homes, particularly along the long stretches of beachfront from the Lagoon Beach through Dolphin Beach and Bloubergstrand up to Melkbosstrand.

PGP's Blouberg area manager Madelon Venter reports that there is also considerable interest from overseas buyers, including Germans and UK residents who have purchased holiday homes in this area.

PGP adds that further up the West Coast, the town of Langebaan remains popular for holiday homes, particularly those along the beachfront, with access to the lagoon.

Area manager Stephanie Wynne Cole says there is a good mix of buyers who utilise these homes for their own family holidays, and those who capitalise on the buy-to-let market, where rentals of around R1600 to R2500 per day.

Along the South Peninsula, the market for holiday homes has quietened somewhat, according to the agents. However, area manager Colleen Curtis reports that towns such as Fish Hoek, Kommetjie and Scarborough remain popular for their beaches and sea views, as well as their laid-back atmosphere. Prices here are reported to range from around R700 000 for apartments up to around R3-million for larger homes.

Src: Iafrica.com (Evan Pickworth)
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