West Coast Western Cape
West Coast
The west coast of South Africa - far-flung, windswept and bordered by the cold Atlantic Ocean demands a special appreciation. For many years the black sheep Western Cape tourism (a fact borne out by the eminence of industries such as fishing, and the iron-ore terminal at Saldanha Bay), it has been set upon by developers who seem all too ready to spoil the bleached, salty emptiness which many people had just begun to value. This is a region roughly cut by nature, with sandy soil and dunes harboring distinctive coastal fynbos vegetation, a coastline almost devoid of natural inlets or safe harbors, with fierce southeasterly summer winds, dank winter fogs, and the ever-miraculous wild flowers appearing in the veld in spring.
The southern West Coast region has many links to Namaqualand to the north - not least in the flowers - although this 200 km or so of coastline is by far the most densely populated part of the coast and the Swartland region immediately inland is usually fertile. North of Swartland lays the impressive Cederberg mountain range, an area of unique beauty, and a striking feature on the N7 highway, the main West Coast artery between Cape Town and Namibia.
Cederberg
A bold and serrated outcrop of the Western Cape fold escarpment, the Cederberg mountain range is one of the most magical wilderness areas in the Western Cape. Rising with a striking presence on the eastern side of the Olifants River Valley, around 200 km north of Cape Town, these high sandstone mountains and long, dry valleys manage to combine accessibility with remote harshness, offering something for hikers, campers, naturalists, rock climbers and even astronomers. In a number of places the pink-hued sandstone (which can glow with heartbreaking beauty in the light of a low sun) has been weathered into grotesque, gargoyle-like shapes and a number of memorable natural features - including the huge Wolfberg Arch and a thirty-meter-high freestanding pillar shaped like (and known as) the Maltese cross.
Throughout the area there are numerous San rock-art sites, an active array of cape mountain fauna, from baboon and small antelope to leopard, caracal and aardwolf, and some notable montane fynbos flora, including the twisted and stubborn Clanwilliam cedar and the rare snow protea. The Cederberg is easily reached from Cape Town by way of the N7: the towns of Citrusdal and Clanwilliam lie just off the highway near, respectively, the southern and northern tips of the mountain range. Both make attractive bases from which to explore the area, particularly during spring flower season, although you can find simple accommodation right in the mountains themselves. From Clanwilliam, set beside a man-made dam, there are worthwhile routes out to Lamberts Bay on the coast and over a stunning mountain pass to the remote and unique mission at Wuppertal.
Citrusdal
Heading north from Piketberg on the N7, a long, flat plain reaches out to the line of Olifantsrivierberg Mountains, which the highway crosses by way of the impressive Piekenierskloof Pass, forged in 1857 by the determined road engineer Thomas Bain. Coming down the northern side of the pass, the boring town of Citrusdal appears in the rolling countryside of the Olifants River Valley, with the dramatic mountainscape of the Cederberg behind. Strange as it may seem now, early Dutch explorers saw huge herds of elephants here as they traveled north towards Namaqualand, therefore the river's name.
There are no roads from Citrusdal into the heart of the Cederberg Wilderness Area - you have to carry on up the N7 to the Algeria turn-off - although there are various routes leading into the foothills, which are justifiably popular with mountain bikers. You can get a map outlining these town's upbeat information center at 39 Voortrekker, the town's wide main street (Oct-July Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 8am-1pm; Aug-Sept flower season Mon-Sat 8am-5pm, Sun 9am-1pm; 022 921 3210, The staff here can provide useful information about self-catering cottages and guesthouses in the area.
Of the Cederberg towns, Citrusdal is not the most enticing; although there is some inspiring mountain-backed countryside just outside town and its here you should look for accommodation if you decide to stop for the night. Surrounding Citrusdal is some attractive countryside and farmland, including, as the town's name suggests, plenty of citrus groves.
One of the principal attractions of this area is The Baths (022 921 3609), to the south. This pleasantly old-fashioned mineral spa resort is set in a beautiful wooden glen with campsites, chalets and self-catering rooms in some large old stone buildings. There's one large hot pool (40'C), a cold pool and several large indoor Jacuzzis. The place has retained its simplicity and is a good spot to relax, particularly if you've been hauling over mountain and rock for a few days. To get there, turn right off the road leading into C itrusdal from the N7 and drive 16 km down a good tarred road past the airfield - incidentally, one of the best places in the Western Cape for parachuting.
Clanwilliam
Also on the N7, but at the northern end of the Cederberg, Clanwilliam is an attractive and assured town. It carries off with some aplomb its various roles, as a base for the majestic Cederberg Wilderness Area behind it; as a centre for spring flowers; as a holiday resort focused on the neighboring dam, and as a service centre for the lower part of the fertile irrigation schemes of the Olifants River Valley to the north.
Established in the last years of the eighteenth century, this is one of the older settlements north of Cape Town, and features a number of historical buildings around town, including an information centre (Mon-Fri 8:30am-5pm, Sat 8:30am-12:30pm, flower season mid-Aug to mid-Sep daily 8am-6pm; 027 482 2024) and museum (Mon-Sat 8am-1pm) situated in the old jail at the far end of Main Street.
There are some genuinely interesting attractions in town, including Kunshuis, a good commercial art gallery on Main Street; a traditional leather shoemaking factory on Ou Kaapseweg; and the country's main rooibos tea-processing factory next door, which also has a window through which you can peer at the activity on the factory floor. Just to the south of town is Ramskop, a wild-flower reserve set on a hillside inside the entrance to the dam resort. The Clanwilliam Dam Resort is the only public access point to the dam - one of the country's top water-skiing venues - which in summer and at weekends is often monopolized by speedboat louts. If you want to join in the watersports, there isn't any local rental, unless you're a resident at the Olifants Dam Motel, which has boats available.
Saldanha Bay
Saldanha Bay is known chiefly for its links to the military (a military academy is sited here) and for the controversial iron-ore loading terminal built here in the 1970's. The iron ore arrives from Sishen in the Northern Cape, 861km away along a purpose-built railway line. The scheme has never been the success it was hoped for, and the latest attempt to paper over the cracks involved building a steel plant beside the terminal. This comes with the added bonus of concrete works, being built to utilize the waste material from the steel plant, which will require a ten-kilometer-long conveyor belt to be constructed between it and the coast north of Saldanha.
You get the sense that it's in for a penny, in for a pound, leaving the country's environmentalists - the precious ecosystems and bird habitats of the West Coast National Park are only a few kilometers away - with their heads buried in their hands. The town, situated on the northwestern hook of the bay, regards itself as a holiday place, but visitors may well remain convinced - the fact that industrial effluent finds its way into the water doesn't enhance any claims to its being a beach resort.
If you do spent time here, though, it's worth taking advantage of the availability of the good fresh seafood arriving daily from the fishing fleet. Interspersed with numerous fish-and-chip shops and fast-food chains along the cliff-edge seafront, you'll find some decent places to eat including the Meresteijn, Main Street, which is open for lunch and dinner daily and offers seafood, meat and pizzas. For breakfast, lunch and dinner, the slipway on the main harbor is a popular spot for mussels and prawn pate and the Blue Bay Lodge, Kamp Street, is known for its French-influenced seafood. There's a fair amount of accommodation in the town, but the two nicest places are along the shore with views of the steelworks, whose lights give a twinkly display at night.
St Helena Bay
St Helena Bay was the point where Vasco da Gama set foot in what is now South Africa during his epic voyage around the Cape and through to India in 1497. He wasn't the first European to round the Cape of Good Hope, nor the first to land, but his voyage did open up the route to the East, which was to give the Cape its strategic importance for four centuries. Three granite lumps on the shore between fishing villages of St Helena Bay and Stompneus Bay serve as a memorial to his landing, and a no-expenses-spared Da Gama Museum (daily 8:30am-4:30pm) has also been established within the largest of the new housing developments in the area at Shelley Point.
The museum is more a rainy-day affair than a must-see, but does include some well-devised storyboards, a collection of model ships and some early navigation devices. Throbbing away in the background of the granite memorial is a lobster factory, where you can usually buy fresh or frozen specimens if you enquire at reception. It's illegal to buy the lobsters if they're offered to you on the street, although in season you can obtain a permit, available from post offices, to catch them for personal consumption. Strangely enough, fisherman once thought the lobster that got entangled in their net a pest, and during the nineteenth century sold wagonloads of them to farmers to be ground up and used as fertilizer.
Elands Bay
Elands Bay is a small community of fishermen and their families. About 50km north of Port Nolloth, it's quite a drive out of Cape Town, but it's worth it if you're looking to relax in a quiet neighborhood.
There is a large campsite right on the beach that is very popular with the surfers. Elands Bay is known for its perfect left-hand waves. Breaking of a rocky reef, the waves peel left for almost 200m. During the holiday season this surf spot can get very full so you'll want to wake up early to sample these legendary waves.
The town itself is quite quaint. It has all the essential shops, and then some. There's one or two curio shops but not much in the way of arts and culture.
There's plenty of accommodation in the form of self-catering apartments and the large campsite by the beach. The Elands Bay Hotel is far from fancy, but it has what you need to spend a night in relative comfort.
Lamberts bay
The only settlement of any note between Velddrif and Port Nolloth, almost at the Namibian border, is Lamberts Bay, 75 km north of Velddrif and 70 km due west of Clanwilliam. This is an important fishing port, although by the sights and sounds of the harbor you soon become aware that even the fishermen have to stand aside for the impressive colony of gannets on Bird Island in the centre of the bay. You can walk out to the island on the causeway which encloses the fishing-boat harbor for a closer look at the tightly packed, ear-piercing mass of petulant gannets, along with a few disapproving-looking penguins and cormorants.
Lamberts Bay itself is rather short on charm; the fish-processing plant sits on the edge of the harbor, right in the town center, giving you the feeling you're in a seat behind the pillar at the theatre. Nevertheless, its isolation means that there's some deserted coastline and nature nearby. During the breeding season (July-Jan), the bay plays host to a resident pod of around seven humpback whales. This is also the southernmost range of Heaviside dolphins - small friendly mammals with wedge-shaped beaks (rather than the longer ones more commonly associated with dolphins), with a white, striped patterning reminiscent of killer whales. You can view the cavorting mammals on trips from the fishing port.
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