LIZ ROWLINSON:WHEN IT comes to lifestyle, the Western Cape of South Africa is hard to beat. It's got dramatic scenery of mountains, pristine beaches, winelands and superb golf courses, plus the cosmopolitan city of Cape Town with its quality restaurants and fashionable Waterfront area.
Throw in the mild Mediterranean climate, an English language culture, and the first-world feel of the region and it becomes clear why large numbers of Irish and British "swallows" choose to winter there every year.
"It's the most amazing place in the world to live; a small, sophisticated city with a European lifestyle," says restaurateur Conrad Gallagher who moved to Cape Town five years ago.
He now runs his own restaurant consultancy business and has a noodle bar that he's looking to turn into a chain.
Gallagher estimates there are up to 1,000 Irish owners in the city - his Geisha restaurant on the Waterfront is often full of those who have bought in new developments, or on golf estates.
"Property prices have gone through the roof in the past five years and it's now great value," says the 37-year-old from Letterkenny.
Indeed, with the value of the South African rand 25 per cent lower than a year ago, life on the Cape is very affordable for the Irish all round.
Even when you factor in a €1,000 airfare for the 12-hour flight from London to Cape Town, a property in South Africa can still prove to be worth the trek.
"An equivalent standard of property on the Cape is twice the price in Europe," says Simon Gibbs of South Africa's largest chain of estate agents, Pam Golding (www.pamgolding.co.za).
"There's still a huge interest in the Cape because it's possible to live a very comfortable life in a secure community with a nice garden and lots of space."
It may seem odd that the backdrop against which the rand has dropped is actually a relatively healthy economy and property market.
Last year's national credit act tightened up lending - foreigners can borrow 50 per cent of a property's value - and buyers from the Middle East and Russia are now pursuing premium properties.
Annual price increases have slowed from a steady 10-15 per cent to 5-6 per cent, according to Gibbs, but in many prime areas of Cape Town, 25 per cent has been seen.
Within the city, the Atlantic seaboard and southern suburbs are the favoured areas - the former generally attracts a younger, glitzier set, whilst the latter's laidback, bucolic feel suits families and the semi-retired.
The really desirable stretch of creamy sand backed by buzzing beachside restaurants and jogging tracks runs between Camps Bay and the Waterfront, taking in Clifton, Bantry Bay, Fresnaye and Green Point (where Gallagher owns a townhouse).
Here, according to George Norris of Aylesford International (www.aylesfordsa.com), you won't get more than a two-bedroom apartment for €500,000 with some stunning contemporary homes cut into the hillside reaching €7.5 million.
"You're paying for the location and buying into the lifestyle," says Norris, who is currently selling an apartment in what he calls the "best block in Cape Town", Eventide, for €3 million.
The serviced apartment comes with four bedrooms, a whopping 100sq m (1,076sq ft) livingroom with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the sea, wine cellar and gym.
A little further north a new stadium is being built for the 2010 World Cup (the airport is being expanded too) near the attractive Victoria Albert Waterfront area, with its designer shopping and stylish marina apartments.
One of these high-spec apartments is owned by Dr Eilis Cryan from Galway, who rents it out for between €1,827 and €2,240 a week (www.holidaylettings.co.uk/69424) when not using it herself.
"The location is as good as anything you're going to get around the world, with Table Mountain from the back balcony and the sea from the front," says the consultant physician with a husband who's a GP and two children in their twenties.
"I'd been coming to the Cape for 10 years because I import wine and think the scenery is stunning, the restaurants fabulous and the cost of living is way lower than in Ireland.
"Yes, there's a lot of security here, but it's very discreet and I've never felt in danger myself," she says in reference to the country's high levels of crime.
Nearby there are penthouses for sale in Sol Kerzner's new One Only luxury brand six-star resort at €8.3 million, the most expensive property per square metre South Africa has ever seen.
At the other end of the spectrum, a three-bedroom home on a development in the northern suburb of Milnerton goes for around €100,000.
In the leafy, exclusive southern suburbs of Constantia and Bishopscourt you can buy a substantial family home for around €750,000 but those seeking even more space should consider the wine-growing valleys east of Cape Town.
Within a half-hour drive are the charming towns of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek with their wineries and traditional Cape Dutch gabled period homes - prices from €200,000.
Alternatively, a substantial home on the nearby Pearl Valley golf resort - surrounded by the Simonsberg and Drakenstein mountains and a Jack Nicklaus signature course - is available from Aylesford for €1.8 million.
With six bedrooms and open-plan rooms opening onto decks and a pool, it offers great indoor/outdoor living typical of the Cape.
This area is rich in top-level golf courses - including the top-ranked Arabella, Darren Clarke's favourite, Pinnacle Point, and Pezula (both further east along the Garden Route).
Plots or shares of homes on Pezula in the popular resort area of Knysna - where Roger Federer lives part of the year - start from around €113,000. (www.pezula.com).
