Year in the Wild: West Coast National Park

Posted on 30 June 2011

I spent last week at the West Coast National Park near Langebaan as part of my Year in the Wild journey to 31 of South Africa’s most special nature reserves and national parks.

Outside of the famous flower season (which starts soon! in August), this park is pretty quiet and empty of visitors. But it makes a great place to visit. I stayed for several nights at Joanne’s Beach Cottage in Churchhaven, right on the lagoon, and I was the only person around for most of the week.

It doesn’t have the impact of a Kruger or Kgalagadi, but it is unique in so many ways. It shelters 30% of all salt marshes in South Africa, providing a stopover for thousands of migratory sea birds who use the lagoon to get fat, before flying on to Russia!

It is also is responsible for the conservation of 25% of the world’s Cape gannet population. I was lucky enough to get a very wet and windy boat ride with William Brink of SANParks out to Malgas Island, just offshore from the lagoon.  It’s a stinky, but beautiful place. There are thousands of gannets, all going crazy, taking off and landing in organised chaos.

Then there’s Kraal Bay, where once lions and leopards roamed, but now houseboats drift in the still waters (two of the houseboats are available for rent through SANParks). It’s also where, about 117 000 years ago, an early human left their footprints in the sand … one of the few examples in the world (it takes a very specific set of circumstances for any footprints to be preserved). They now are housed at the Iziko Museum in Cape Town for proper preservation, but I think it would be great if they were taken back to the visitor centre at the lagoon near Geelbek.

Anyway, besides all the conservation value, the West Coast National Park is also just plain beautiful and serene. The lagoon is almost always flat and still, while the Atlantic Ocean on the western shore is often wild and windy.  There are not many accommodation options, but there’s plenty in Langebaan.

Here are some pics from my week … enjoy!

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