LENGTH: 450 KM

DONT MISS ::Langebaan Lagoon ::West Coast National Park ::Onse Huisie ::Evita Se Peron

You don't have to venture far out of Cape Town to find the perfect starting point to a West Coast drive since Bloubergstrand, with its stunning view of Cape Town, will do perfectly. It is also the home of "Onse Huisie", a national monument and well-known restaurant on the beach. Onse Huisie is one of the oldest and best examples of the traditional Cape fisherfolk cottages.

Melkbosstrand, further up the coast, is a popular holiday destination. There are many picnic and braai sites near the beachfront, which is also a favourite amongst anglers.

On the way to Yzerfontein and the West Coast National Park you'll pass South Africa's only nuclear power station, Koeberg. Yzerfontein is a small fishing village that is also a good venue for whale watching in spring.

One of the highlights of the trip is a drive through the West Coast National Park, which takes you along the beautiful Sixteen Mile Beach. The park conserves one of the most important wetlands and waterbird areas in South Africa.

The shallow bay of Kraalbaai is home to many houseboats, and the lukewarm waters a favourite amongst the informed few that know of the village.

Just north of Kraalbaai is the rocky Postberg Peninsula, which forms part of the West Coast National Park and is only open for visitors in August and September, when it puts on a dramatic flower display.

The Langebaan lagoon is the biggest salt marsh in South Africa, and during low tides its exposed mud flats and salt marshes can attract up to 30 000 wading birds.

Between April and August an estimated 8 000 flamingoes visit the lagoon.

Langebaan has grown into a thriving holiday village and is popular amongst watersports and angling enthusiasts.

A must for anyone visiting Langebaan is its famous alfresco restaurant "Die Strandloper", which is situated north of the town on the way to Club Mykonos, a Greek-style hotel and entertainment resort.

Die Strandloper specialises in traditional West Coast foods such as snoek, bokkoms, mussels, crayfish and waterblommetjiebredie. Saldanha has been in the news recently more for its controversial steel factory than anything else, but the town itself is also worth a visit.

Saldanha offers views of Malgas, Jutten, Schaapen and Marcus islands. A quarter of the Cape gannet population (approximately 60 000 birds) nests on Malgas Island.

From Saldanha the road goes inland and through Vredenburg to Paternoster which is a rustic fishing village well-known for its whitewashed cottages
and the popular Paternoster Hotel.

Nearby is the Columbine nature reserve that protects coastal fynbos and succulents.

Another fishing town, St Helena Bay, is a major fish-processing centre. During the fishing season (January to August) boats loaded with anchovies dock at the quays. The Da Gama monument (in recognition of the Portuguese mariner, Vasco da Gama, who landed here in 1497) stands
on the shores at Stompneus Bay.

On the way back the road takes you through the "West Coast Twins", Velddrif and Laaiplek.

The famous Berg River canoe marathon, which starts in Paarl, finishes at the bridge crossing the river at Velddrif and Laaiplek. Here traditional fishermen's cottages line the riverbanks.

From Velddrif the road stays close to the Berg River and takes you to Hopefield, a small town known primarily for its colourful displays during the flower season in spring.

The R307 back to the Cape leads you through Darling, noted for its annual flower show held in September and satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys's Evita Bezuidenhout, who has made this small town her/his home. Evita presents shows regularly at a theatre that was once the local railway station.