See Saldanha

Saldanha Bay

The sea­side town of Saldanha lies in the north­ern corner of the largest and deep­est bay in South Africa and is a bust­ling har­bour town with a thriv­ing fish­ing industry with fish, cray­fish, mus­sels, oysters and sea­weed. Any vis­itor tak­ing a walk amongst the fish­er­man when they bring in their catch is in for an impromptu les­son in local cul­ture. The banter amongst the fish­er­man goes on in regional speech with words and ges­tures that belong to the West Coast alone.

Many trav­el­ers have the impres­sion of vast, grey open spaces when they think of the West Coast, of a coun­try side that only blooms for a short period each spring ... This is true, but the Cape West Coast is not just about the cli­mate or the region; it's about the people. Their incred­ible sense of humour that allows them to laugh at them­selves and face adversity with the same cour­age and determ­in­a­tion as did their ancest­ors hun­dreds of years ago make the people of the West Coast as inter­est­ing and unique as the landscape.

Saldanha Bay and the Langebaan Lagoon both draw game fish­er­man in droves with good catches of yel­low­tail and tuna and the fam­ous Cape snoek in the winter months. The South African Naval base, the SA Military Academy, is in Saldanha, so the har­bour teems with fish­ing boats, naval ves­sels and private yachts. The Saldanha-Sishen rail is known through­out South Africa as this was espe­cially built to carry iron-ore for the Steel Works. The steel works and the fish­ing industry are what drive the eco­nomy of the region.

Cape Gannets

Saldanha has much to offer tour­ists and is par­tic­u­larly pop­u­lar with all types of water sports enthu­si­asts who come here to water-ski, fish, dive, surf and sail­board. Eco-tourism is pop­u­lar here with innu­mer­able seagulls, Cape gan­nets, duikers, terns and cor­mor­ants that thrive in this unspoilt region of South Africa.

Saldanha has great 4x4 trails, moun­tain bik­ing oppor­tun­it­ies and numer­ous hik­ing trails, thus mak­ing this a pop­u­lar vis­it­ing place for out­doors enthu­si­asts as well. In early Spring each year the rather drab West Coast is trans­formed into a kal­eido­scope of col­our and many people make the yearly pil­grim­age to see this spec­tacle of nature for them­selves when the spring flowers bloom and the West Coast National Park is a def­in­ite for all visitors.

For those vis­it­ors who must get to places in a hurry there is the Saldanha/Vredenburg Aerodrome situ­ated on the main access road to Saldanha Bay that caters for small civil­ian aircraft.

Saldanha is a town of con­trasts with upmar­ket accom­mod­a­tion on offer for vis­it­ors vary­ing from resorts, bed and break­fast places, charm­ing guest houses and back­pack­ers dorm­it­or­ies to the white­washed cot­tages of the tra­di­tional fish­er­men. Yet the people of Saldanha have cre­ated har­mony between the tra­di­tional way of life, the sleepy vil­lage, the smart naval uni­forms of the train­ing cadets and the laid-back hol­i­day­makers, with more dis­cov­er­ing the many attrac­tions of Saldanha and the sur­round­ing region each year and come to exper­i­ence the warm friend­li­ness of the people, the good food, the pristine open spaces and sub­dued beauty of this West Coast town. 

Useful Links:
For more des­tin­a­tion inform­a­tion see:
Saldanha Attractions
Saldanha Accommodation
Things to Do in the West Coast