By Helen Bamford
People have been urged to avoid Sandy Bay, Cape Town's famous nudist beach, after two men were robbed by armed and "aggressive" thieves.
The victims were part of a group of seven from Edgemead who were surfing at Sandy Bay last week.
A day later, police arrested one of the suspects, who was spotted with a bag belonging to one of the men. He was leaving Sandy Bay and heading to his home in Imizamo Yethu when he was nabbed.
Hout Bay police spokeswoman Inspector Tanya Lesch said the man has been charged with theft.
The latest robbery follows a spate of crimes at the secluded beach this year.
According to the Table Mountain Safety Action Group:
Two men armed with knives attacked a woman and man walking on the beach and stole cellphones, a camera, shoes and R1 000.
A walker was stabbed by a man armed with a knife after refusing to hand over his cellphone and wallet. He was also hit on the head with a rock and had to be hospitalised.
Two women tourists were mugged by five men on the path to Llandudno.
Last year a 50-year-old woman was raped at Sandy Bay.
Lesch said four women were robbed of their cellphones while walking on the Vlakkenberg Mountains above Hout Bay last month. Although they were not physically hurt, they were traumatised.
The Table Mountain Safety Action Group has warned people to avoid Sandy Bay, the Kings Blockhouse and Rhodes Memorial for now.
This message is on the group's website: "We urge people visiting the Table Mountain range to be extremely careful, especially as the festivities related to the soccer World Cup draw to a close and police visibility returns to normal."
They said muggers were after "cash, clothing, hiking equipment, cellphones and other valuables" and that they were "armed and aggressive".
Police spokeswoman Captain Angie Latchman said there had been two muggings at knife-point near the King's Blockhouse on Devil's Peak above Rhodes Memorial two Sundays ago.
The incidents happened within 10 minutes of each other - one at 5.50pm and the other at 6pm.
Latchman said that in both cases the complainants had been walking alone when they were confronted by two men with knives who robbed them of their clothing and cash. No arrests have been made.
Paddy Gordon, the manager of Table Mountain National Park, said they were concerned about the Sandy Bay and King's Blockhouse areas.
"We've contacted the police in those areas and have our own people looking into new trends."
Although the park carries out patrols, Gordon says criminals adjust accordingly and crimes are being reported further from the urban edge.
Gordon urged people to walk in large groups and to carry fewer valuables.
Meanwhile, on Friday a 17-year-old Bergvliet High School pupil was robbed of her cellphone by a man wielding a broken bottle. The girl negotiated with the robber for her SIM card in exchange for R20. When he tried to grab her, she screamed and he ran off.