I always thank my lucky stars that I live in Kommetjie. Apart from being the second-last outpost before Antarctica, it has its own climate. As the winter storms roll in from the Atlantic, we can watch as the cloud bank forms and flows over the mountains across the bay - the Sentinel, Klein Leeukoppie, Chapman's Peak, Constantiaberg, the Twelve Apostles and Table Mountain - while we remain bathed in sunshine. With an uninterrupted view of the ocean horizon, we can tell by the strength of the wind and the speed of the clouds how long it will be before the rain arrives, while it is already slashing down in Hout Bay and Newlands.
Not for nothing is Noordhoek known as Tornado Alley, as the prevailing winds in both directions have been known to rip off roofs while properties on either side remain unscathed. The parking lot at the local mall, which is right in the middle of the Fish Hoek valley, is a place not to be parked in without careful consideration of the wind direction. Never park with your boot to the wind - your door will be snatched from your grasp before you can blink and a nice ding will appear in the car next to you. This means that the same thing will happen to you and you can be sure no one will ever leave a note to say they will pay! Always park bonnet to the wind and your door will slam shut on your head as you get out. Better than a ding in the car.
The wind in Kommetjie is seldom as fierce as it comes straight off the sea without the down-draught of the Peninsula mountain chain, and we are always the first to see the sun after the last rain cloud has passed. We also have the advantage of the lung- and sinus-clearing smell of the kelp, sometimes freshly turned by the churning seas and sometimes rotting for weeks in a sheltered cove. I am even more lucky that I don't live near a sheltered cove!
August is sure to bring some more wintry weather, but I don't mind if it is like today - a gentle shower from puffy clouds traversing a sky that keeps bursting into blue.
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