For Lovers and Loafers ... Langebaan

Langebaan Lagoon

Located on the Cape West Coast and once a whal­ing sta­tion, Langebaan has evolved and firmly estab­lished itself as a tour­ist attrac­tion to be reckoned with. While the town was offi­cially foun­ded in the early 1900’s, its his­tory dates back hun­dreds years as an area once inhab­ited by the Khoi San people long before even the earli­est Dutch and English explorers passed through.

Located as it is on the shores of a tran­quil lagoon the town of course offers a wide vari­ety of water sports and activ­it­ies, includ­ing kayak­ing, wind­surf­ing, and its newer cousin, kite surf­ing, boat trips and fish­ing, as well as pad­dling in the shal­lows or simply enjoy­ing the white sandy beaches. The lagoon itself forms a part of the West Coast National Park, a wild­life sanc­tu­ary and home to many indi­gen­ous and migrat­ory bird spe­cies as well as small mam­mals, mak­ing it ideal for bird watch­ers and nature lov­ers alike.

Also for those who wish to view the raw, untamed nat­ural beauty of the Cape West coast region and plan­ning a visit dur­ing the spring, it is worth bear­ing in mind that the area like much of the sur­round­ing coun­tryside is car­peted with wild­flowers in the months of July to September. A recent addi­tion to the Langebaan land­scape is the Langebaan Country Estate devel­op­ment, both a res­id­en­tial estate, and an old style coun­try club, with a golf course, braai area, pro shop and other facil­it­ies, this gen­teel loc­a­tion will appeal to those who seek an upper class out­let for their energy.

Windsurfers

Boasting fossil sites, fyn­bos and wild­life, the Elandsfontein Private Reserve offers as exclus­ive a get­away with a decidedly wilder theme. View the recently rein­tro­duced ante­lope, zebra and Cape Buffalo on a game drive, and watch the sun­set from the lux­uri­ous lodge.

A famed local moun­tain bik­ing com­pany, Live2Ride, who offer moun­tain bike tours of some of the most beau­ti­ful parts of the coun­try, have chosen Langebaan to be a part of their West Coast exper­i­ence and they are well worth con­tact­ing for those ener­getic enough to explore by pedal power. For a sim­il­arly close to nature oppor­tun­ity to explore, albeit on a very dif­fer­ent mode of trans­port­a­tion, Windstone offers horse­back tours of the area, as well as vari­ous activ­ates for fam­il­ies and children.

But Langebaan is not entirely devoted to the out­doors. For cul­ture lov­ers, the Bay Gallery in Bree street show­cases the work of local artists, in vari­ous media, includ­ing paint­ings, sculp­ture and tex­tiles. If you crave the bright lights of the city, this town has some­thing for you too, in the form of the Club Mykonos hotel com­plex, which boasts sev­eral enter­tain­ment options, includ­ing a casino for those who are feel­ing lucky.

At Strandloper

With all of this activ­ity, one is bound to work up an appet­ite, and Langebaan is glad to oblige. There are sev­eral fine res­taur­ants, cof­fee shops and other eat­er­ies in town, but surely the most fam­ous, and unique must be the Strandloper Restaurant. This legendary local res­taur­ant is loc­ated on the beach at Langebaan lagoon, and serves exquis­itely pre­pared sea­food and other dishes .Patrons can take off their shoes and feel the sand and sea between their toes while­watch­ing the kids play on the beach.

So, it seems, for any­one who would like to visit the West Coast, but does not know where to start, Langebaan offers an obvi­ous first choice, and will surely cap­tiv­ate even the most seasoned traveller.

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For more des­tin­a­tion info see:

• Langebaan Attractions
• Langebaan Accommodation
• Langebaan Guest Houses
• Things to Do in Langebaan
• Cape West Coast Accommodation