After this weeks cold spell, a day at the beach is probably not high on the agenda but summer will roll around again so here are a few of my favourite South African beaches โฆ
In the Overberg, Nannyโs Beach, also known as Kammabaai, is a well loved Hermanus beach.ย A firm favourite for a family day on the beach, Nannyโs Beach has great waves for surfing and body boarding and also has safe swimming for the kids.ย Milkwoods provide shade for the picnic and braai spots and to work off your lunch you can climb the many rocks around the beach!
Breakfast Bay, also in Hermanus is sheltered by the high dunes that flank the beach, making it a perfect picnic spot if the day turns out to be a bit breezy!ย Itโs also very popular with both sunbathers and sandboarders.
Cape Town is blessed with some spectacular beaches, and surely Llandudno must be one of the finest?ย Framed by rocky points on either side, the white sand is perfect for lazy hours of sunbathing and beach bat!ย The water is often a clear, Mediterranean blueย – ideal for a refreshing dip on a hot summerโs day.ย The waves at Llandudno are pretty strong; good for surfing but if you are not a confident swimmer its probably wiser to stay closer to shore.
Elands Bay on the West Coast is well known for its beautiful scenery, laid back lifestyle and endless beach.ย Famous for its left surfing wave, the Elands Bay beach is internationally recognised as a great surfing beach.ย However, if balancing on a moving board is not really your vibe, you could also try rowing, sailing, mountain biking or bird watching.
And if that doesnโt tickle your fancy, just kick back with a bitterly cold glass of something and a freshly grilled crayfish.ย What more could you ask for?
Moving onto the Garden Route, although Central Beach in Plettenberg Bay is often the busiest of the Plett beaches, Robberg Beach, stretching for kilometres between Robberg Peninsula and Beacon Island is popular and absolutely perfect for long, long, long walks!ย Take the dogs down for an early morning stroll and donโt forget to keep your eyes peeled for pansy shells.
The beaches of the old โTranskeiโ, now formally part of the Eastern Cape, are probably not as frequented as โmainstreamโ beaches but this very special area of South Africa has some remote, rural locations offering gorgeous, empty beaches where there might be more cows on the beach than there are people!
Possibly my most favourite beach of them all is Zinkwazi Beach on the KwaZulu Natal Dolphin Coast.ย The temperature of the sea is perfect all year round, there are shark nets in place and life guards on duty during peak holiday times.
Zinkwazi is an ideal beach for children, offering small, safe swimming channels, loads of rock pools and a lagoon for swimming and water sports.ย For the very enthusiastic itโs also possible to walk all the way along the beach to the Tugela River Mouth โ but please bear in mind that this is a LONG walk so plenty of drinking water, a hat and sunblock are essential items.
Hurry up Summer!
For more detailed information about South Africa’s Beaches see:
