18 July 2025
This July my husband and I decided to take a trip down to Cape Town South Africa for a short week-long, beach holiday. Since it was the middle of winter and off-season it was nice and quiet, with not so many tourists around (other than myself of course, no matter where I am, my camera is basically attached to my hand, so I look like a permanent tourist.) It is also a bargain that the Western Cape tourist spots have a lot of specials for the locals in winter... uh yes please, no ques and a discount!!
I love the Western Cape, there is so much to do and explore and one place that I have always wanted to visit but never had the chance to in the past was the colourful huts on the beach down near False Bay. They are small wooden change rooms sat on the beach in front of the ocean of the Saint James Tidal Pool in Muizenberg.
All in all, there is nothing really too special about these huts other than the visual appeal, I think most people (including me, I guess) will pop through to get an Instagram photo of them as they are pretty and stand out against the mountain backdrop but other than the look, they are just empty wooden huts. I think they are used as change rooms.
I do know that Muizenberg is known for having great beaches and is one of the main surfing spots in Cape Town so normally this place would be filled with surfers.
I am a swimmer myself and swim all year round, however I do this in a warm indoor pool so seeing people jumping into the ocean in winter surprised me. I know that this side of the Cape is fed by the Indian Ocean and will therefore be warmer than the other side of Cape Town where the Atlantic ocean makes it feel like diving into an ice bath even in summer, but it was a cooler day so I take my hat off to the brave men and women having their morning swim in the ocean!
Apart from the fun painted houses, I loved this gorgeous mural on the wall behind them. It amazes me the talent that people have to paint something so beautiful and detailed on a wall like this.
We took a short stroll away from the huts and swimmers for a bit, to explore the rest of the beach and enjoy the views.
I can see why this section of the Cape is known as the birthplace of surfing in South Africa, the waves were incredible. One of my absolute favourite things to do at the sea is find a rock and just sit and watch the waves come and go and crash along the shoreline.
I am so happy that I got to check off this bucket-list destination off for myself. I finally visited the Muizenberg Coloured Huts and I loved every minute of it. The beach is amazing and looked like a great place for a swim (I will give that a go when we visit again in summer)
Photography instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/ajchampz.photography/
[//]:# ([//]:# (!worldmappin -34.11866 lat 18.45894 long d3scr))