At first glance Gunther does not strike the observer as being a typical old man of the sea character; for a start he lacks the customary flowing beard and salty yellow southwester, instead sporting a completely bald head and an unusual taste in hats. However, don’t let that put you off as underneath the clean-shaven exterior Gunther holds a wealth of knowledge on all aspects of maritime life large enough to rival Davy Jones’s.

Stepping aboard his boat, The Sturmvogel, Gunther spread a large map of the Luderitz coastline upon the deck and traced the journeys route with a long weather- beaten finger; “We’ll travel out of the harbour and sail up past Diaz Point, where there’s a seal colony, hugging the coastline up to Halifax Island to see the penguins”, he grinned, “penguins are always a favourite with visitors!” The boats route then turns back on itself, sailing towards Agate beach and the hulking sand dunes before coming back into harbour. Folding up the map Gunther smiles again, motions for us to sit on a cushioned bench and pulls up the main sail, we were off!

Having lived in Luderitz for a fair few months now, I feel fairly confident in saying that I know the town relatively well, but the view of the harbour from the stern of the Sturmvogel was one I had never seen before; like a picture postcard the town lay spread out and colourful against the rocky greyness of the desert looking so pretty that not even the dusty gravel roads and disused power station could spoil it.

As we set out for open water Gunter struck up a running commentary on the landscape, the animal life and the weather, pausing only to ask a couple of friendly questions and adjust the little boats course. Although Luderitz is famed for its high wind speeds, the days when it is calm and sunny should gain just as much notoriety, and dangling my feet over the side of the boat and watching a pod of dolphins follow our course is anyone’s idea of paradise. My happiness was truly complete, however, when Gunther twinkled his seaman’s eyes and produced a lunch box full of food, including a warm meat pie and a pickle- bliss!

Sturmvogel tours cater for groups as large as 10, provides blankets and a CD of photos of the boat and the coastline and includes lunch (complete with pickles). Morning tours usually last 4 hours and sundowner tours last 3.

Since February of this year Bogenfels has been under new management and offers one of the largest menus in town along with excellent and friendly service. We decided it was the perfect time to check it out!

Bacon, Cheese and Garlic Roll, N$30: A simple but very tasty starter, the Bacon, cheese and garlic roll gives you no more than the name implies. It is a decent sized to fairly big starter.

Garlic Snails with Fishermans Loaf, N$35: I first attempted to eat snails in France two years ago and, after the initial revulsion at the notion that I was munching on a plate of slimy molluscs, the garlic taste had me hooked. I am happy to say that Bogenfels’ snail dish did nothing to quell my love; the food was neither too greasy nor too garlicky whilst the bread that accompanied it, although perhaps a little dry, was perfect for mopping up the sauce.

Bogenfels Style Pork Rib, N$90: A rib usually stands or falls with the marinading, which is in this case outstanding. The rib is juicy, with a lovely sauce. At N$90 the rib offers an incredible value to money ratio, for it is certain to fill even those with a bigger appetite. The Bogenfels style pork rib gets my recommendation, when dining out at Bogenfels.

Thai Beef Salad, flame grilled beef slices, sweet Thai sauce, jalapeno peppers, lemon, cherry tomatoes and fresh mint, N$40: Since living in Namibia it is rare that I should chose a salad over a plate of meat but faced with the opportunity to sample an oriental dish I couldn’t refuse. My plate came piled high with soft, thin strips of beef, sweet cherry tomatoes and an unexpectedly large amount of onion. Although the dish wouldn’t be my regular choice I recommend it to anyone who just wants a break from a meat overdose.

The café itself is a large airy room with three walls of windows and one wall painted a light green giving the whole room a fresh feel, added to by the potted plants in the corners and the large orchids on each table. If Diaz Coffee Shop is epitomised by the warm dark aroma of coffee then Sea Breeze is a refreshing glass of orange juice, light, bright and healthy.

The menu offers a mixture of light breakfasts and lunches, toasted sandwiches and a small selection of sweet things as well as a range of cold drinks, milkshakes and coffees. Meals cost an average of around N$35 giving good value for money considering the mountain of food given on each plate and we feel it may just be the perfect place to stop for lunch after a hard mornings work.

Club Sandwich (triple toast with chicken, mayonnaise, bacon, cheese, tomato and lettuce. Served with chips): More is not always necessarily better. This is a fact that kills many club sandwiches which go overboard on the amount of filling. At Sea breeze however I find a well filled club sandwich that stays on the right side of that fine-line. Impressive was the freshness of the vegetables, something that, as we all know, is very hard to maintain in Lüderitz. The value for money score is high, a decent size lunch that is guaranteed to satisfy your hunger at a decent price.

Sea Breeze Burger (meat patty, fried onion, tomato, lettuce, fried mushroom, cheese and gherkins. Served with chips): A burger is one of those age old foods that has been done so many times and in so many different ways (the Cajun burger, the bacon burger, the royale with cheese and so on) that many restaurants spend large amounts of time and money struggling to come up with a new and exciting way to present a meat patty between two buns. However the Sea Breeze burger suggest that in fact the very best way to make a burger is in the good old traditional way; piled high with meat and fresh vegetables and smothered in a delicious blanket of melted cheese the meal pushes every button. The chips are crispy and lightly salted, a far cry from the soggy vinegar soaked delicacies that I’m used to in England, and my only criticism is that the meal is impossible to fit into your mouth in one go, making for a very cheesy, collapsed mess on my plate- delicious!

Iced Coffee: Sea Breeze Café is on of the few places that actually puts a scoop of ice-cream in their iced coffee. This certainly adds a nice flavour to the coffee. However a good ice coffee is hard to come by since coffee tends to loose it’s aroma when chilled. The ice coffee at Sea Breeze is tasty and certainly worth a try, but if you enjoy a cold drink with some ice cream in it, I would recommend the milkshakes rather than the iced coffee.

Chocolate Caramel Cake: Sea Breeze Café may not have the biggest selection of cakes in town but it does have a special cake of the day, made fresh every morning and different every day. On the day of our review the baked treat was a chocolate caramel cake. Served in huge slices this cake was soft and moist and the caramel topping thick and creamy. The taste was a little bland but the sheer quantity of food given certainly makes up for that fact.

If you would like to put our taste buds to the test and be reviewed by The Buchter News please contact us on info@buchternews.com

Held in the spacious and airy Penguin Restaurant the weekly buffet meal is the perfect way to wile away a few hours and grow a few dress sizes. The room itself is large and filled with light with a wall of windows looking out over a bright green lawn and blue bay beyond it. Every table is delicately arranged with a light green table cloth and simple white china whilst the various decorations and paintings, the largest being a one-walled mural of jackass penguins thus giving the restaurant its namesake, give the whole room a nautical theme.

But enough of that! Along two walls of the restaurant are two long tables with white table cloths and these are the most important things in the room; this is where the food is. Heaped high with tasty treats are platters upon platters of food; fish, meat, seafood, vegetables and puddings, so much that it’s virtually impossible to try every dish! Starter choices include an array of cold meats and fish, raw, smoked and cooked, any form of salad you can imagine, from fresh tomatoes and feta to pasta salad to potatoes and mayonnaise, to three bean salad to coleslaw, and, The Buchter News’s personal favourite, an oriental platter complete with miniature spring rolls.

The options for main dishes are equally as extensive; budding foodies can choose their own cut of meat from a sizzling hot pan and choices include chicken, Kessler, beef (which is fantastically salty), lamb and pork. For the most part the meat is delicious, tender and well flavoured but come too late to the buffet and you may find some of it a little dry as it lies out on the cooker. To accompany your meat there is rice, potato wedges and several stews which will leave you full to bursting. However it has to be said that this buffet only has limited options for vegetarians as, as with almost anywhere in southern Africa, the main meal focus is on the meat.

Whatever you do don’t eat too much for your first two courses because the selection of deserts at the Nest Hotel buffet is so good it is one of the few things in life that can actually be described as sumptuous. As most of you know I have I horrendous sweet tooth and it always fills my heart with joy when I see the dessert table, laden with lovely sweet things. Depending on whether you’re in the mood for cake or tart there is a dish that will suit you and in addition there is always a large bowl of fresh fruit salad. My personal favourite is the Nests chocolate mousse; gloriously thick, rich and creamy it’s like taking little spoonfuls of calorie-rich heaven, HAVE THIS!

The Sunday buffet at the Penguin Restaurant runs from 12.30- 2pm every weekend, costing N$85 not including drinks. Please be aware that dish options will vary from week to week.

If you would like to put our taste buds to the test and be reviewed by The Buchter News please contact us on info@buchternews.com