The harsh, yet beautiful, Atlantic coast - explore the untouched natural lagoon with its important ecosystem and migrating waders; botanical reserves with walking trails and quaint fishing villages.
- RAMSAR (Wetland of International Importance) site
- Fantastic birding
- Fields of wild flowers
- Spring bloom (Aug-Sep)
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West Coast travel info To the west the region borders on the Atlantic Ocean, which yields a rich harvest of mussels, abalone, crayfish and other seafood delicacies. The fertile soil of the Swartland forms the eastern border. This area boasts two registered wetlands of international importance for birds, with the Ramsar Convention, which came into force in 1975, which includes the Langebaan Lagoon and the Berg River. These two areas are a bird-watchers paradise, especially during the Northern Hemisphere winter when thousands of migratory birds flock to the area.
Carpets of flowers appear overnight during late winter and early spring (August/September) while whales frequently visit the sheltered bays from July to October. Recently two fossil human footprints, which have been dated back to 117,000 years ago, were discovered along the Langebaan lagoon.
These footprints can thus be placed among the oldest known fossilized traces of anatomically modern humans. Other fossils such as the well-known Saldanha man have also been discovered in the past. Conditions for water sports such a sailing, kayaking, angling and windsurfing are excellent.
The Namaqualand National Park (south of the Namibian border) seems a desolate and an uninviting region. However, once a year a miracle of nature occurs, which attracts botanists from all over the world. Soon after the spring rains, the arid desert is covered by a magic carpet of brilliant colour - wild flowers of every possible shade. 4000 species of plants grow here, but the most prolific are daisies and mesembryanthemum.
Seasons
Rain occurs mainly from May to August. Summers (Nov-Mar) are dry with early morning mists with south-easterly or south-westerly winds. A temperate coastal climate prevails. Flowers are best enjoyed in spring (late Aug-Sep). Mar-Sep are the birding months.
Wildlife
You should see: eland, red hartebeest, Cape grysbok, caracal, rock hyrax
You may see: whales, dolphins,
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