FAQs - Plan your trip to Pringle Bay

• Young children and babies are welcome and we have a travel cot for babies and high chair and clip-on feeding chair, however we request parents bring their own linen and pillows for the baby cot for hygiene reasons.
• Children can be accommodated on a pull-out double sofa bed in the lounge or a single pull-out futon bed or sunbed couch in the sunroom/4th bedroom.
• We are reasonable about the number of children staying with adult guests, obviously taking the ages of the children into account, but please contact us if you are unsure. We normally limit the total number of adults and children to 10 guests in total, depending on circumstances.
• We request that guests with young children and babies take special safety care around the swimming pool and on the raised the deck and stairs, where children or babies can potentially fall off the deck.

Dogs are welcome by arrangement – we would like to know the number, age/size and breed of dog in case any special precautions are needed, for example, with puppies or known potentially dangerous breeds such as pit bulls. Dogs need to be tick and flea treated and owners need to bring own dog bedding and feeding bowls. The house has wooden floors and only a few loose rugs, but please ensure dogs are kept off the furniture and they will have to sleep inside the house at night, as the property is not fenced, except for the immediate area around the swimming pool.

When keeping dogs inside the pool fence area, ensure that the dogs do not try to dig out under the fence, as the soil is very soft and sandy. Please clean up after your dogs – plastic bags on a roll are provided in the bathrooms for sanitary towels and these can also be used for animal waste.

Please do not let your dogs run loose in the fynbos bush due to the risk of encountering wildlife, which may include snakes, caracal, porcupines, deer, birds, mongoose and baboons.

Dogs need to be kept on a leash while walking in sub-urban areas but well socialised dogs are permitted off the leash on the main beach by local arrangement at your own risk – the bylaws say that dogs must be on leashes at all times, but locals ignore this on the main beach, but there is a risk of being fined. Many of the restaurants and coffee shops in Pringle Bay with outside seating are dog-friendly. Please note that dog owners are responsible for controlling their animals and will be responsible for any damage caused by their dogs.

The property has a stair-free pathway, but it is not wheelchair suitable. The main entrance and some rooms are accessible with minimal steps.

There are 5 shops in Pringle Bay in the village centre, including the popular Mini Mart, Lemon and Lime and another Village Deli grocery store next to The Burger Bar – these stores sell most basic food supplies, including fresh salads, freshly baked breads and pies, milk, cheese, sugar, sweets, BBQ meat, fish, chicken, pasta ice creams and deli items, plus firewood, charcoal and firelighters, cigarettes, airtime etc. There is a deli called Lemon & Lime in the town centre which sells very good quality items but is relatively pricey and is open from 8am till 7pm Mon to Sat, closing at 4pm on Sundays. The other shops are all open 7 days a week usually till 6 pm. The BBQ or braai meat selection is a little limited. In Kleinmond, there is a well-stocked Super Spar and a Butchery in nearby Kleinmond, which is 15 minutes’ drive from Pringle Bay. Some of the shops sell wine and there is a Hangklip Bottle Store which sells a very good range of beer, wine and spirits and is generally open 7 days a week during high season until 7 pm. On Saturday mornings there is normally a craft and organic market in the town centre, at which various homemade jams, baked goods, boerewors rolls etc. are sold, including an organic vegetable stall. Occasionally there will be larger craft markets held in the community centre near the entrance to Pringle Bay, and these will normally be advertised by way of posters. There are also some very good wine farms in the area and ther

There are several restaurants, pubs, and shops in Pringle Bay and nearby areas. Advanced bookings are recommended for popular spots.

• Parties and loud music are not permitted. If you are looking for a venue for a noisy party, then the Mermaid’s Tail is not for you.
• Many guests come to celebrate special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries and family reunions and enjoy themselves in a calm and civilised manner. The main issue is loud parties with unruly behaviour and noise that will affect our neighbours, and this is NOT permitted.
• if guests break the noise/no parties rule, they will get one warning, and after that, ASK Security Services will remove the offending guests and no refunds will be given.

• We are not unreasonable about a limited number of day visitors up to 50% of the number of overnight guests, but parties and loud noise are not permitted and only the authorised number of guests may stay overnight.
• The limitation on the number of visitors is determined by fire and health bylaws on toilet facilities, parking and overcrowding, as well as the effects of noise and disturbance on our neighbours.

We provide all linen including down duvets and pillows for the beds (and sofa bed/futon where requested) including beach and bath towels.

• We do not normally charge a breakage deposit, but guests will be held responsible for any breakages or damage to the property.
• We do not charge for minor items like the odd broken glass or plate, but we do expect guests to report any other breakages, damage, or stains that may require special cleaning - we reserve the right to recover costs on any big items where the guest is at fault.
• The house is comprehensively insured and in the event of damage caused that can be recovered from insurance, we may recover the insurance excess (usually between R1,500 to R5,000 depending on the type of damage) from the guest where the guest is at fault.

• Yes, there is a built-in wood-burning braai on the deck, overlooking the swimming pool – we supply a “starter pack” of 50 pieces of dry wood, thereafter it is up to the guests to supply their own wood and firelighters, which are available for purchase from the grocery shops or bottle store in the village.
• There is also a portable gas braai which is kept in the pool hut.
• There are also cast iron “potjie” (3 legged) casserole pots which may be used on the braai/BBQ or on a separate portable gas stove with a potjie pot attachment.
  Please be aware of the fire risks when using the wood fire and ensure the fire is properly extinguished after use.

Yes, there is unlimited 40 mg fiber wifi with a UPS on the router.

• We no longer supply bicycles for guest use, but bicycles can be hired in the village from Chadoka Creative Studio in the Village and Mermaid’s Tail guests get a discount from the owner Takura tel: 078 662 7105
• There are some limited games and beach/pool toys/boogie boards at the house, but the condition and usability of these items are not guaranteed, as these tend to take a high level of abuse.
• There is a dartboard and mini table tennis table in the garage and a boule/pétanque rink next to the driveway.

• Our guest information brochure contains a floor layout of the rooms with the bed configuration:
• Bedroom 1: This is the main bedroom and has a queen-size bed (this room has an ensuite toilet and shower)
• Bedroom 2: At the choice of the guests, this can be set up either as 2 single beds or made up into a king-size bed by placing the two singles together and covering it with a mattress topper (this bedroom has an ensuite toilet and shower)
• Bedroom 3: This has a queen-size bed and a great sea view towards Cape Point (there is no ensuite bathroom - this bedroom shares the family bathroom which has a bath, shower, and toilet, with the guests from the 4th bedroom/sunroom)
• Bedroom 4/Sunroom: This is a separate small room with fantastic sea, mountain, and pool views, containing a double bed. The room is separated from the main lounge by a sliding door and curtains for privacy. It also has a daybed couch (often used for small children) and a pull-out low futon-type single bed stored under the double bed, which can be used for a child. The occupants of the Sunroom will need to share the family bathroom with the occupants of Bedroom 3 (so there are 3 bathrooms in total, two of which are ensuite for bedrooms 1 and 2).
• Lounge: There is also a double sofa bed in the lounge in the event that this may be required – it is a relatively small double sofa bed with a thin foam mattress, so it would not count as the most comfortable bed, so is best used for kids or in an emergency.

There are two generous size fridge/freezers in the kitchen – top half fridge, bottom half freezer – this should easily be adequate for 8 guests, even for a long stay.

• There is a UPS on the wifi router which keeps the wifi up for 2 hours in the event of load-shedding and there is an inverter in the lounge which can power the TV and DSTV for up to 4 hours.
• There are emergency rechargeable light bulbs in the bedside lamps and there are emergency LED lanterns for lighting.
• The stove has 4 gas-powered burners, which have to be lit using matches or a lighter when the power is out. There is also a wood-burning braai/BBQ and a gas braai for cooking without electricity.

Yes, there are troops of wild baboons in the Pringle Bay area, which is part of the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve. Unfortunately once baboons have discovered human food, they change their behaviour and can become addicted to human food and garbage scraps - they then may try to gain access to houses, waste bins, cars, shops - anywhere where they see or smell food. Pringle Bay has human Baboon Monitors who are paid to follow the baboons to discourage them from being in the town - they will blow vuvuzelas (plastic African trumpets) to warn residents that the baboons are coming, so if you hear this, or dogs barking, make sure the doors and non-barred windows are closed. The best is to always keep the white security gate to the deck closed, as the baboons haven't figured out how to open that latch. Also make sure food is not left unattended outside or anywhere accessible via a window, for example.

If you do find a baboon in the house or on the deck, the best thing to do is to remain calm. They are just after food. The baboon is taking a big risk entering your property and will therefore be very nervous, the last thing you want to do is make them any more frightened than they already are. As soon as it realizes that it has been rumbled it will want to make a hasty retreat. Let it, and let it go with what ever it has decided to steal, it’s really not worth fighting the animal over a few scraps of food. Do not try to take anything away from a baboon, as it could become aggressive. The best thing to do is to make the path of escape as easy as possible. Open a door or window and get well out of the way. The chances are though that the animal will try and leave the same way that it came in, if you can see where that is then try and stay well clear of the baboon’s path to this exit. Close any internal doors so that it cannot get access to the rest of the house and stay calm. If you become aggressive then you cannot expect anything but aggression back.

Once the animal has left the premises secure all open doors and windows to discourage a return. Then set about assessing the risk of a repeat offense, because if the baboon sees your property as a place to get an easy meal and you don’t do anything to prevent access then it will return and do the same thing again. 

It is illegal to feed baboons, or to try to harm them by throwing things at them or shooting at them with paint ball gun, firearms, catapults or firearms. Please keep your dogs away from them and do not try to set your dog on the baboons, as there will be only one winner in a fight, and it won't be the dog.