SA: West Coast National Park

The West Coast National Park lies 88 km north of Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The park is found inside of the Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve, part of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme. The West Coast National Park is home to over 250 bird species, making it a bird-lover’s paradise. There are four hides inside the park, which provide excellent viewing. Flamingos, ostriches and black harriers can be seen hanging out in the area, along with curlew sandpipers, sanderlings and knots, which journey some 15000 km from Russia to breed at the park each year! best time to visit is in August / September for the magnificent display of fynbos.

🙂 Stunning landscape, Birdlife, Peaceful, remote

🙁 Everything to love!

9 December 2022

We finished work at 16h00 and headed off on the road to West Coast National Park which was straight and quiet. We made it just in time to get through the gate and drove to our home for the next two nights: Stleyter House Cottage. A small one bedroom cottage with an open fire in the lounge and a braai area. Reading previous visitor comments, it looks like it could potentially be noisy as the adjacent stable block has been converted to student accommodation for field trips. Fortunately for us, we were the only people there.

We had a drink on the patio watching the ostriches who were watching us! Then we headed to the nearby bird hide for sunset – which was beautiful – flamingoes in the water next to us. So tranquil.

When we got back we braai’d some delicious steak and then snuggled in front of the fire …very cosy!

The next morning we were up early and spotted our very first ever sighting of Bonetebok right next to our cottage. The bontebok is one of the rarest antelope in South Africa and is characterised by its stylish ring-shaped horns, striking markings on its torso, and distinctive white blaze that runs down the center of its face. It wanders across the coastal grass plains, dining on fynbos vegetation in South Africa. What sets bontebok apart from other wildlife in Africa is their conservation story, which is without a doubt one of the most dramatic success stories ever. The bontebok was once considered to be the rarest antelope in the world, with only 17 left in the early 19th century. They were being hunted by the thousands for their meat and skins, and were brought to the brink of extinction. Fortunately, a farmer had the foresight to build a fence for the remaining 17 bontebok on his property. He had no idea that he was saving the bontebok from certain extinction! After the tiny population of bontebok were relocated to other parks, they began to reproduce and thrive. Bontebok numbers hovered in the low hundreds for many years. In the 1930s, a national park was declared specifically to conserve them, which helped them flourish. Careful conservation efforts have helped their numbers increase to around 3,500 today.

We decided to do a drive to all the view points. It was very quiet but we did see some cyclists also enjoying the views. On a clear day Seeberg view point has one of the best vistas in the park – you can see Table Mountain, the Cederberg mountains and the southern part of the Langebaan Lagoon and there is a little museum housed in an old shepherds house.

2022 had apparently been a fantastic year for the flowers and although we missed the peak time, evidence remained and one can only imagine how stunning it must have been.

We had been really looking forward to visiting the Strandloper at Langebaan Beach – we thoroughly enjoyed our ten course meal there – click on the link to check it out… After lunch we came back to the Park – it had rained and the tortoises were all out looking for water.

The Elizabeth Harding hide provided views of the magnificent sunset.

This hide was donated by Elizabeth Harding and there is a lovely tribute to her on the wall.

That evening was the England vs France Worldcup football game – typically we had loadshedding! But electricity came back on for the 2nd half – wish we hadn’t bothered – the French play such a dirty game…grrrrr.

We were up again early the next morning – this time we had a herd of eland outside our cottage! We enjoyed breakfast watching them and then packed to leave.

Just beautiful ….

There is a little restaurant which looked cute and served crayfish curry.

We did the other loop of the park and found a recently deceased snake on the road – it must have been hit by a car, poor thing.

Kraalbaai is a section of the Langebaan Lagoon, where visitors can enjoy everything from kitesurfing and waterskiing to fishing, kayaking, snorkelling, SUPing, boating – and, of course, swimming in an amazingly still, crystal-clear waters.

On the more weather-exposed, rougher side of the West Coast National Park, the Lagoon’s tranquil, mirror-like waters are swapped for crashing, frothy Atlantic Ocean waves. The less pristine, yet still somehow beautiful, stretches of beach are perfect for shell collecting, and, you guessed it, a lekker braai by the sea!

The views from the viewpoint were lovely. We spent some time in the hide. it was quite cute as there are swallows nesting in there too

This park is a real gem – would love to return in the flower season.

Go to: The Cape

Leave a Reply

Continue Exploring

South Africa
South Africa
South Africa