Blouberg, Western Cape

Blouberg or Blaauwberg, is a group of suburbs situated along the Table Bay, approximately 16 kilometres (10 miles) north of Cape Town in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Location
Situated on the West Coast, the geographical position of Blouberg is between the Blaauwberg Nature Reserve to the north and Milnerton to the south. Due to most of the area having been developed around Table View, Blouberg is also known as the Greater Table View area and many of the suburbs are considered as extensions of Table View.

Suburbs
Blouberg comprises the coastal suburbs of Table View, which is the largest suburb of Blouberg, Bloubergstrand and Big Bay. Between these coastal suburbs and West Coast Road to the east are Bloubergrant, Blouberg Rise, Blouberg Sands and West Beach. Between Table View and the Rietvlei Wetland Reserve to the south is Flamingo Vlei. Bordering Table View to the east along the Diep River are Rosendal, Sunridge and West Riding. North of Table View and east of West Coast Road is Sunningdale, Parklands and Parklands Extension. North of Sunningdale and Parklands on the urban edge is the new fast-developing suburb of Sandown.

The areas east of the Diep River and west of the N7 are mainly dominated by industrial areas such as the Astron Energy Oil Refinery and Killarney Gardens and the informal settlement of Du Noon. Richwood, located east of the N7 is a small middle-class residential suburb.

Retail
Blouberg includes a host of several shopping malls with the largest of these being the established Bayside Mall in Table View and the newer Table Bay Mall in Sandown.

Smaller shopping centres include:
 * Ashwood Centre, Parklands
 * Emporium Shopping Centre, Sandown
 * Flamingo Square, Table View
 * Parklands Mall, Parklands
 * Parklands Lifestyle Centre, Parklands
 * Sandown Retail Crossing, Sandown
 * Seaside Village Shopping Centre, Big Bay
 * Table View Shopping Centre, Table View
 * The Stables Shopping Centre, Du Noon
 * West Coast Village Shopping Centre, Sunningdale

Growth
The location of Blouberg, just under 20 minutes from Cape Town and its self-sufficiency from the city made the area a convenient place to purchase residential property and as a result, a lot of residential development has been constructed in recent years or is still under construction here. The area north of Blouberg has rapidly expanded with new extensions such as Sunningdale, Sandown and Parklands North, which mostly comprise of complexes and townhouses while the northern extension of Rivergate is a new mixed-use development north of Sandown Road and just off the N7 highway.

Private healthcare
Netcare Blaauwberg Hospital is the sole hospital serving Blouberg. Owned by Netcare Limited, it is a private hospital operating 24-hour emergency services. The hospital is located between West Coast Road and Waterville Street, just north of West Coast Village in Sunningdale.

Public healthcare
Table View Clinic is a government-funded municipal clinic operated by the City of Cape Town, catering to residents' healthcare needs within the Blaauwberg Health region.

Roads
Blouberg is mainly reached via the R27 (West Coast Road), a major regional route connecting Milnerton and Cape Town to the south with Melkbosstrand and Velddrif to the north.

Furthermore, it can also be reached from Cape Town and Malmesbury via the N7 through the interchanges with the M12 in Du Noon and M14 in Montague Garden, via the M5 from Milnerton and Muizenberg, via the M12 from Burgundy Estate and Parow and via the M14 from Parow and Melkbosstrand.