September 2025

Postcard views

Simon’s Town (also spelled Simonstown) is one of those places you have to visit when you’re a tourist – or live nearby like us. This is one of South Africa’s oldest towns and Naval bases. It was given its name in 1687, when Governor Simon van der Stel visited the area.

During the 21 years we have lived in Cape Town previously, we have visited Simon’s Town at least once a year. However, we have never stayed in this beautiful coastal town for a weekend. Now that we’re back, we’ve decided to rectify this and packed our bags for a weekend of fun in Simon’s Town.

Penguins View Guesthouse:

Since Simon’s Town is a seaside village, we wanted to find accommodation with a sea view. And Penguins View Guesthouse not only ticked this box, but also many others. Our host, John was friendly and helpful with great advice on where we could eat out and when is the best time to see the unique and endangered land-based colony of African penguins on Boulders Beach.

Entrance of Penguins View Guesthouse

Our room, the beautiful Penguin Studio, was on the third floor. It has large windows and a sunny balcony from where we had incredible views over False Bay, with the bonus that we could actually see the penguins on the beach from our room.

Our room, Penguin Studio

The beached themed blue and white room exceeded our expectations. We could admire the lovely view even while lying on the comfy bed. There is a kitchenette, seating area, and an ensuite with a walk-in shower. There is also a flat screen TV (but we never switched it on during our weekend).

Luxurious bed and fully equipped kitchenette

Look at that view

Panoramic view from our room

Besides the lovely room, the rest of the guesthouse is just as beautiful. The well-maintained garden with numerous succulents, flowers, and green grass creates a peaceful atmosphere. There is even a sheltered swimming pool where guests can relax on hot summer days if the Atlantic Ocean’s water is too cold for swimming.

Stairs leading up to our room

Succulents in the garden

Pool and relaxing area

Upon our arrival on Friday afternoon, there was a very strong wind that had turned the sea into a stormy scene. We sat in the comfort of our studio and watched how waves collided with each other, hurling spray high into the air.

Rough seas due to a strong wind

Waves crashed fiercely against a large rock and lighthouse

Misty weather set in by late afternoon

The lighthouse and big rock (again)

Despite the windy conditions, we were able to see the penguins on the beach. We couldn’t wait to see them up close the next day (more about this in our next post).

Penguins on the beach and rocks

Bertha’s Restaurant:

We decided to have dinner at Bertha’s Restaurant. During our previous visits to Simons’ Town, it was a restaurant where we often had great breakfasts, and we were eager to find out how their dinner was.

Bertha’s Restaurant

With spectacular views over the harbour and False Bay, it is a popular dining spot in Simon’s Town. Bertha’s, with its ‘nautical’ feel, is known for its delicious seafood, and we were very impressed with our selection of dishes.

Fish cakes with sweet chilli jam as a starter

Hake & calamari combo for Berto and Grilled line fish for me

Belgian Waffle with baked apple, nuts, cinnamon and ice-cream as dessert

Satisfied with our dinner, we drove back to our guesthouse where we enjoyed a glass of wine on the balcony while looking at the night lights of nearby seaside villages.

We could see the lights of Kalk Bay and St James from our balcony

At sunrise, we were awakened in our room by an orange glow – what an amazing way to start the day. It was almost windless and promised to be a pleasant day – both in terms of the weather and exploring Simon’s Town.

The beginning of a new day from our studio at Penguins View Guesthouse

Sunrise in Simon’s Town

Soft morning colours

A beautiful day

A lone sailboat drifting in False Bay

First on our list was breakfast and then a visit to the African penguin colony. We will write about this in detail in the next post and promise to spoil you with lots of photos!

Jubilee Square:

After an amazing morning on the beach with the penguins, we drove into town and parked at Jubilee Square. From here, it’s easy to explore the streets of Simon’s Town on foot. In the square, there’s a lot of arts and crafts, making it a good place to buy souvenirs and gifts. There are quite a few coffee shops and restaurants, and you can’t miss the monument of Just Nuisance, the Naval Dog. All this while you have a beautiful view of the harbour.

Harbour view at Jubilee Square

Arts and crafts

The story of Just Nuisance, the Naval Dog:

Just Nuisance was a South African dog and the only dog ever to be officially enlisted in the Royal Navy. He was a Great Dane who, between 1939 and 1944, served at HMS Afrikander, a Royal navy shore establishment in Simon’s Town. He received his name because he would like to lay on the vessels and was hard to move. The sailors became acquainted with Just Nuisance and would feed him treats such as pies and beer. They would take him for walks and errands they had to do ashore. He eventually was enlisted in the Navy and even went through medicals just as all sailors had to, which he passed with flying colours. He signed all his official documents with his paw print. Just Nuisance was promoted from ordinary seaman to able seaman and had an arranged marriage to Adinda (another Great Dane) which resulted in 5 puppies.

Just Nuisance was discharged from the Navy on the 1st of January 1944 after a motor accident had left him with Thrombosis which was paralysing him. A veterinary surgeon recommended that he be put down and on the 1st of April 1944 he was taken on his last ride by lorry to the naval hospital where he was put down. The next day his body was wrapped with Royal Navy ensign, and he was laid to rest with full military honours on top of Red Hill (we visited his grave and will show this towards the end of this post).

I’m meeting Just Nuisance

We decided to walk back towards Bertha’s Restaurant at the Town Pier where we had enjoyed dinner the previous evening. This is the perfect place to see all the yachts because the False Bay Yacht Club is located here.

St George’s Street, the main road in Simon’s Town

Lovely shops and buildings along the main road

Town Pier:

From the Town Pier, we had a beautiful view over the harbour and the yachts. It is also here that one will find the lesser-known statue of the ‘Standby Diver’. This statue stands as a symbol to all past, present and future South African Navy divers. The plaque reads: “We protect and serve, confident in the knowledge that there will always be a fellow diver looking out for us.”

The harbour and yachts at the Town Pier

Statue of the ‘Standby Diver’

Another view of Bertha’s Restaurant – this time in day light

During our previous visits, we often enjoyed fish and chips at the Salty Sea Dog. I love this building and I’m happy to see it still exists after all these years.

The best fish and chips at Salty Sea Dog

We walked along the pier on our way to the Assegaai Submarine Museum. On the way, we saw more artwork of wild animals made from beads. We also didn’t miss the colourful little flowers.

Artwork of wild animals made from beads

Pretty flowers

Upon our arrival at the Assegaai Submarine Museum, there was a large school group that had just arrived for a guided tour. We would have to wait an hour for the next tour and decided to rather come back here on a future visit to Simon’s Town.

The SAS Assegaai Submarine at the Naval museum

With a tour through the Naval museum unfortunately aside, we continued walking along the main road to look at all the beautiful buildings.

This part of town is called ‘The Historical Mile’ – quite fitting if you look at all the old buildings

The Willets Hotel (built in 1828) and British Hotel (dates to either 1871 or 1889 – sources differ)

We also found The Lord Nelson Inn, named after Admiral Lord Nelson who was on board the vessel HMS Dolphin which anchored in Simon’s Bay in 1776.

The Lord Nelson Inn

There are several steep and narrow stairs that lead from the main road up the hill. One of these stairs (Signal School Steps) leads to the grave of Just Nuisance. It is an uphill climb of about 340 steps, but a ride with our ‘bakkie’ seemed like an easier option!

The Drostdy Steps (1828)

We decided to walk to the dockyard where we got a glimpse of the old weathered clocktower. It was built in 1815 and originally installed in the Royal Navy Mast House and Sail Loft.

Old clocktower

It was now time to climb back into our ‘bakkie’ and take the winding road up Red Hill to search for Just Nuisance’s grave. On the way, we stopped at a viewpoint to admire the view over Simon’s Town, the harbour, stunning beach, and False Bay.

View of Simon’s Town and its harbour from Red Hill

False Bay

Panoramic view of Simon’s Town and False Bay

The white sand of Long Beach is visible in the foreground

Eventually, we reached the grave of Just Nuisance – high up in the mountains overlooking False Bay. It is probably the best resting place for “the only dog ever to be officially enlisted in the Royal Navy”.

Grave of Able Seaman Just Nuisance, the Great Dane

Black Marlin Restaurant, Millers Point:

Without realising it, it was already long after noon. It was time to find a place by the ocean for a relaxing afternoon and good food. Black Marlin Restaurant is famous for their delicious seafood and incredible views. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day while enjoying lunch outside under their sun umbrellas.

The stunning views from our table at Black Marlin Restaurant

We started off with a Greek Salad and West Coast Mussels

Tuna salad and Chicken Schnitzel

We drove back along the beautiful coastline to our accommodation where we sat on the balcony for a while to admire the views again. Earlier while exploring the town, we had booked a table at a pub to watch the rugby – the Rugby Championship series was on, and our beloved Springboks were up against Argentina.

The Hickory Shack & Charlie’s Garage Craft Brewery:

It was a good idea to book a table, because the pub was packed with Springbok supporters.

The Hickory Shack & Charlie’s Garage Craft Brewery

A live band entertained us while we were waiting for the rugby kick-off

While we were waiting for the rugby kick off, two young men walked in to watch the rugby as well. They couldn’t find any seats, and we offered for them to sit at our table. Piet and Donovan are two members of the Navy, and we really enjoyed their company. Another Navy colleague of theirs, Mlu, showed up later, and we celebrated the Springboks’ victory over Argentina late into the night.

Happy Springbok supporters – Piet, Mlu, Donovan, me and Berto

Jay, the owner of The Hickory Shack, sent a complimentary snack platter to our table which we enjoyed a lot.

Donovan, Jay (owner) and me

Our complimentary snack platter

It was such a fun evening and the perfect way to wrap up our weekend in Simon’s Town. Drop in at The Hickory Shack when you visit this beautiful coastal town – you’ll walk in as a visitor and leave as a friend (oh, and their craft beer is good)!

Final thoughts on Simon’s Town:

As we woke up to another beautiful morning, we enjoyed our hot drinks on the balcony and unanimously agreed that Simon’s Town offered more than just a weekend escape—it gifted us beauty, delicious food and history. Bonus points for the new friends. We arrived curious and left full-hearted.

Last morning views from our balcony

Coffee, tea and rusks

One last thought: There are not many places in South Africa (perhaps even in the world) where road signs warn you to look out for penguins. We will tell you all about this in our next post (read here).

Unexpected road sign – only in Simon’s Town