Today I want to take you on a walk along one of the most widely used and appreciated beaches in this part of the African south coast. This region of the Garden Route is a major tourist attraction and this stretch of soft white sandy shoreline is called Robberg beach. Locals, on the other hand, know it as “Millionaires mile”. It may not look like anything too different from other beaches you have seen, but behind the low dunes just up the slope of green dune cover, we can find some of the best real estate in the country.
Location is everything, or so the saying goes, and this location happens to be a sheltered full sea view with your own steps down to the sandy shoreline. The 4.5 km stretch of beach is a busy place for local residents to walk their dogs, and you can see them morning and afternoon, taking their pets for a stroll beside the shoreline right where the ocean washes up to meet the African continent.
The beach stretches from the Beacon Isle time share resort at the one end, all the way to Robberg Peninsula nature reserve on the other. This is in the town called Plettenberg Bay, the top holiday destination for locals and international travelers alike. The tide was high when I went to explore the beach and the thin strip of sandy shoreline was eaten up by the increased tide and swell of the waves.
The warm Indian Ocean makes this a temperate place all year long and the sea is pleasant for swimming most of the time. You just need to be aware of potential sharks, since the Robberg Peninsula is a marine reserve and seal colony, which naturally attracts sharks to the region. Surfers till go out on their boards to catch some waves so their isn’t too much to worry about, although there have been two fatal shark attacks in the past ten years or so.
On my stroll along the dunes I even came across this worn out wetsuit that has seen better days. Some surfer must have had enough of it and simply discarded it or forgotten about it. It was beyond salvaging and so was simply an amusing find, lying like an empty shell of a human, a mere husk with all the life dried out of it thanks to the sun and salt that abundantly bathes the blissful beach front.
The millionaires, or those who have their houses closest to the beach front with the majestic view of the bay, are able to stroll onto this stretch of coastline as if it’s their own personal playground. Some of the houses are uninhabited holiday homes for the super-rich who happen to be living their lives elsewhere, and only come to their beach home during the holidays, generally in summer.
The really lucky ones simply come and live here permanently. There must be a seriously good reason to live elsewhere when this is paradise on earth. Obviously they are obliged to make their money in the city in order to afford the holiday house on this beach. The smart money, in my opinion, would enable themselves to rather work from home and thus be able to enjoy the healthy beach life all year long. That’s what I do. And I’m not even a millionaire.
I already have the goal of life – a permanent holiday lifestyle in the most beautiful seaside town anywhere on the southern shore of Africa. I don’t need to strive hard in some unpleasant city to afford the luxury of a holiday lifestyle. I simply change my priorities and perspective of reality and allow myself to live the dream hear and now, regardless of external economic factors.
After all, this beach is free for all to visit and swim in all year long. It’s always here and always inviting to any lover of the fresh healthy natural elements. On the far end, right where the soft white sand meets the rocky outcrop of Robberg Peninsula itself, you can see some seals and even dolphins occasionally, at any time of the year. The geology is very pleasant to admire and creates a perfectly sheltered bay for the whales to come and give birth annually around this time of year, during the southern winter.
The rock formations are fascinating and I go climbing up along the sloping side of the peninsula sometimes. The scene is constantly shifting as you can expect from sand and sea. And in the off season you can have the whole beach to yourself, or so it seems, as very few people actually come here, except the early morning and late afternoon dog walkers that is. But with such a long stretch of shoreline, it looks quite empty since it’s so stretched out like a long thin slither of soft white carpet with only the odd wondering soul strolling along with their dog in the distance.
So if you want to live like a millionaire, or experience the surroundings of paradise regardless of your bank account, then you will really love this long stretch of clean smooth sandy white shoreline and the accompanying rocky Robberg Peninsula natural marine sanctuary for birds and sea life.
You don’t have to be rich to bask in the sun and bathe in the warm ocean, since they are freely available for us all, at all times. I can’t think of anything more refreshing or invigorating for the health than spending time in this environment. Come and experience it for yourself. You will be equally inspired.
(photos my own)