Jacobsbaai Photo

These pho­to­graphs taken in Jacobsbaai (near Saldanha) on the Cape West Coast, were sent to me by my friend Barbara of WebTech Originals. Barbara took these pho­to­graphs when a barge that was being towed by a tug boat dis­lodged and was stran­ded near Jacobsbaai ... Continued

With Love From Shelley Point

© Paul Heydenrych

It all star­ted on a Friday after­noon with three great friends, off for a week­end of fun and birth­day cel­eb­ra­tion. It was lunch time, the car was packed, the music was play­ing and our jour­ney began. Before we left Cape Town we had to stop off for some essen­tial padkos (quiches, bottled water and chips from the Oakhurst Farmstall in Kenilworth) and once we’d bundled ourselves back into the car we were off ...

Even though it was lunch time the traffic was bumper to bumper, because every­one knows Cape Town closes early on a Friday to make way for the week­end. Nevertheless we were three ladies on a mis­sion to get to our des­tin­a­tion - Shelley Point on the Cape West Coast ... Continued

New on the Cape West Coast

Shelley Point Hotel

Shelley Point Hotel, Spa & Country Club is nestled between the sil­very white sands of lush green Peninsula Village of Shelley Point, on the Western Cape coast­line, approx­im­ately 90 minutes from Cape Town. Shelly Point's per­fect loc­a­tion allows it to receive the best fea­tures of the Cape's Mediterranean climate.

Shelley Point is a mar­ine reserve. Each new day brings close encoun­ters with nature; cray­fish, aba­lone, mus­sels, dol­phins, cor­mor­ants and the rare oyster­catcher and is one of the most pop­u­lar bays for Southern Right Whales and Humpback whales to visit and calve. Continued

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 ... Continued

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. Continued

Langebaan — A West Coast Gem

Langebaan

Defined by its rugged shorelines, coastal veget­a­tion, her­it­age fish­ing vil­lages and unpre­ten­tious life­style, the Cape West Coast still holds an ele­ment of the wild unknown. A tan­gibly strong cul­ture of fisher-folk with their quaint small wooden fish­ing boats and simple lives on the sea, are qual­it­ies that draw vis­it­ors from across the globe. Loved by many, the dra­matic coast­line, change­able seas, white sandy beaches and cerulean blue skies creep under your skin and seep into your soul. The most pop­u­lar of all the quaint vil­lages is Langebaan, with its nat­ural won­ders, blue lagoon and azure skies.

Established as a party town for lov­ers of water­s­ports, fish­ing or just a good time, Langebaan has an excit­ing buzz over the week­ends and hol­i­days. Visitors to the town are never short of some­thing to do over a long week­end, with a pleth­ora of water­s­ports equip­ment hire stores, res­taur­ants, drink­ing holes, cock­tail ven­ues, hores­rid­ing, play­grounds and even a casino resort. Days are best spent on the water, ski­ing, canoe­ing or simply swim­ming and sun­bathing, and the even­ings are for sooth­ing burnt skins and going out on the town to appre­ci­ate the sun set­ting over the vast lagoon. Continued

Take a Trip to 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 takes 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 Cape 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 West Coast is not 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. Continued

Delightful Darling

Darling © Kalimera

Known to some as the per­fect week­end get­away and to oth­ers as an artistic refuge, 75 kilo­metres from the heart of Cape Town lies the sleepy town of Darling. As Cape Town has expan­ded, more and more city folk have chosen to leave behind sub­urban liv­ing and build a new life in one of the Western Cape's outly­ing vil­lages. Darling was one of the first such towns and remains one of the favour­ites for its thriv­ing local com­munity and attract­ive nat­ural surrounds.

In less than an hour's drive you can remove your­self from all the cos­mo­pol­itan bustle of the city to a tran­quil­lity and old-world charm that will steal your heart.

The vil­lage lies amongst wheat fields and vine­yards and invites the vis­itor with its warmth and friend­li­ness to kick off your shoes and relax; to have a good meal at one of the res­taur­ants or the bis­tro and drink some of the well-known wines that make the Darling wine route. Continued

West Coast Wonders

West Coast

When you wander up the R27 coastal road that winds up the West Coast of South Africa, you pass through towns and vil­lages that make you think you have some­how stepped back in time. Towns and vil­lages that are untouched by the fren­etic energy of the city main­tain the same steady pulse of liv­ing that has sus­tained them for dec­ades. Here the clock ticks to the rhythm of nature with sea being main source of income for the fish­ing vil­lages that dot the coast and the can­ning factor­ies in Saldanha and Port Owen. For many the West Coast is a for­got­ten region as it is off the nor­mal tour­ist track, but it rewards intrepid trav­el­lers with a unique per­spect­ive on South African life.

The sea too is the the main attrac­tion for most of the vis­it­ors ven­tur­ing up the coast. Yzerfontein is a hugely pop­u­lar resort town and within easy reach from Cape Town that attract loc­als and tour­ists through­out the year. It is a favoured fish­ing spot and when the snoek runs, fish­er­man come from all over. Few exper­i­ences can beat the rus­tic bliss of sit­ting around a fire on the beach with fish­sizz­ling on the coals and a black cast iron pot ready for the cray­fish as the divers take it out of the water. Round off the meal with freshly baked bread and apricot jam and you have regional food at its best. Continued

Whispering Whale — A Gem of a find on the Cape West Coast

Whispering Whale

Situated in the tiny beach vil­lage of Jacobsbaai on the pop­u­lar Cape West Coast between Saldanha Bay and Vredenburg, Whispering Whale is three lux­ury, self-catering or bed and break­fast apart­ments set amidst some of the country’s most unspoilt nat­ural beauty and rugged coastline.

Whispering Whale is one of those truly idyllic escapes that go bey­ond the call of duty to ful­fil their every prom­ise. Breathtaking coast­line and vir­gin beach, evid­ent from each of the apart­ments, does indeed lull you into a sense of lan­guor where strolling beaches and enjoy­ing end­less meals of incred­ible sea­food eas­ily becomes a way of life to which you become accus­tomed, if not addicted, and life is inter­rup­ted only by the odd ven­ture to a nature reserve, on a hike or to par­take of the array of end­less water sports in the area. Continued

Visit Langebaan

Langebaan Lagoon

Mention Langebaan to Capetonians and they smile; only 100 kilo­metres from Cape Town this hugely pop­u­lar hol­i­day town offers the ulti­mate in easy get­aways. Weekends away in Langebaan are an excel­lent oppor­tun­ity to get some time out and indulge in the hol­i­day mood without ardu­ous plan­ning or a long drive.

But it's not only con­veni­ence that this West Coast town has in its favour. The Langebaan lagoon is simply stun­ning; crys­tal clear water sur­roun­ded by snow-white beaches attracts water sports enthu­si­asts from all over South Africa. Windsurfing, kite-surfing, angling and yacht­ing are some of the favour­ite local pastimes.

The lagoon is also an amaz­ing fam­ily spot, where Moms and Dads can take time to indulge in the time-honoured tra­di­tions of sand-castle build­ing, stone-skimming and shell-collecting with their kids, mak­ing it an ideal Family-friendly hol­i­day des­tin­a­tion. The lagoon itself is pro­tec­ted from the wild­ness of the Atlantic Ocean mak­ing this a safe little haven for pad­dling and the water is also much warmer than at the ocean itself. Continued