Oystercatchers' Haven: A Whitewashed Hideaway on South Africa's West Coast - Gardenista
Above the dunes on a blue bay in the whitewashed town of Paternoster The Oystercatchers Haven is a sumptuous guest house... Photography by Marie Viljoen except where noted. ...with a mesmerizing view In the bay below humped granite rocks interrupt and define this stretch of South Africa s West Coast When Wayne and Sandy Attrill built the Oystercatcher’s Haven in 2002 it was after collecting for years old doors and windows, anything that would give it “the feel of an Old House on the Hill,” wrote Wayne in an email. High ceilings, polished concrete floors, gorgeous views, and high thread count sheets make the old house a sophisticated one. Colorful wooden fishing boats ride at anchor in the inlets as fisherman pursue rock lobsters, the catch that fuels this fishing town. The guest house is named for the distinctive black shorebird birds perching watchfully on the rocks below, and which mate for life. Once a quiet village of modest white-walled cottages, Paternoster experienced a tourist bonanza in the last decade. Stepping straight from the deck of the Oystercatcher’s Haven to the dunes, a barefoot visitor will spot succulent Mesembryanthemums growing fatly in the sand. After a quiet season of winter rains, this entire coast erupts in a spring flower riot and for six weeks Paternoster is a boom town of local and international floral tourists. Summers are hot and dry, and a birdbath beside the guest house’s deck lures a stream of grateful feathered visitors who splash and drink with abandon, including this Cape weaver. Photograph by Vincent Mounier. The arresting courtyard of the guest house echoes its coastal surroundings. Seaglass and pale statuary share quarters with indestructible succulents and water wise plants. In the courtyard another local bird, the agile rock kestrel is a regular visitor, clambering tamely amongst the gutters and in the thatch, on the hunt for starling nests. Photograph by Vincent Mounier. And while the vast coastline lies waiting to be explored, the seduction of a private balcony offers the perfect spot to watch the water, sip the local wine, and wonder why you ever have to go home again.