Whale of a Braai in Kommetjie Today
Alert! A 40-ton whale carcass that washed up on the shore of the Cape Peninsula hamlet of Kommetjie last week is to be burnt today – a solution that arrived from the thoroughly-scratched heads of various officials yesterday morning.
Here follows a transcript of the deliberations: “Lessee, too heavy for a truck to pull… can’t tow it out to sea because it might break up on shore… can’t chop it up because of the marine conditions… can’t blow it up because everyone will be covered in whale splodge… can’t leave it because of the stink… let’s burn the darn thing!” “Yeah!”
So the peninsula gets a chance to hark back to its whale-hunting roots: in the 19th century, bubbling tripots of blubber belching great clouds of black smoke were a common sight in these parts.
If you want to check it out this whale of a braai, then the best thing to do is take a drive along the M65 (map), which runs above Kommetjie, and should give great, disgusting views. Meanwhile, surfers are being warned to stay away from their favorite spots near Misty Cliffs, because the decomposing whale runoff is attracting a large number of sharks.