LANGEBAAN
Before we get to the fun things to do in Langebaan – here is a bit of history on the town itself:
Langebaan, known as the jewel of the West Coast, is just over 120km from Cape Town and is situated next to the beautiful Langebaan Lagoon.
The town is fortunate to enjoy almost year-round sunshine – the winters are never very cold and summer has long sunny days. The southeasterly wind in summer months make Langebaan a popular and world-class town for especially windsurfing and kite-surfing.
History told us that the town originated on a farm called De Stompe Hoek that was first called Geytenbergsfontein.
LANGEBAAN – THE NAME?
There are various interpretations as to how Langebaan got its name. The most popular explanation is that the Dutch seafarers who entered the lagoon to repair and clean their ships, named it after the long strip of calm water formed by the lagoon.
Schaapen Island, close to the beach of Langebaan, was used as a stop-over to do repairs to ships. It was also used as a place of grazing for sheep that were returned to Cape Town by the VOC (The Dutch East India Company) … this makes Langebaan one of the oldest towns in South Africa with a history dating back to more than 400 years.
Today, Langebaan is a popular weekend and holiday destination (and for us, a hometown 😄). It is a place where you can enjoy the sun, sea and surf and it offers a wide variety of fun stuff to do …
Shark Bay, on the edge of Langebaan, has a stunning beach and is in close proximity to the West Coast National Park. The name (Shark Bay) is quite scary, but don’t worry – it comes from its numerous and harmless sand-sharks (and not the greater and whiter variety 😉). The shallow blue water makes this the perfect beach to fish and kite-surf.
In spring time, Langebaan changes into a colourful carpet of flowers. It is absolutely worth it to visit Langebaan in August and September to view this beautiful site. You can also see a previous post (POSTBERG NATURE RESERVE) when we’ve visited this area during spring time.
To take long walks on the beach alongside the lagoon, is one of our favourite things to do here in Langebaan. Whether it is early in the morning or late in the afternoon, it is an absolute tranquil time and there are few things better to do, than this!
So, without further ado, herewith our list of:
10 Fun things to do in Langebaan:
- Kayaking on the Langebaan lagoon
- Wind- and kite surfing
- Fishing
- Swimming & yachting – Langebaan beach & lagoon
- Visit the West Coast National Park (and the Postberg Nature Reserve in August and September)
- Visit Club Mykonos Casino – beautiful accommodation and abundance entertainment
- Dining at the many restaurants in Langebaan
- Shopping – the Laguna Mall is a favourite place to visit and you will find many small curio shops close to the lagoon, as well as coffee- and other speciality shops
- Take a few road trips to neighbouring towns (within 15-60km) – like Paternoster, Jacobsbaai, Saldanha Bay, Yzerfontein & Darling … and a few camping spots (and other surprises)
- And lastly … get back to some exercise … like playing golf. The golf course was created by the famous South African golf legend, Gary Player. There is also a fun Mashie golf course for families
Over the next couple of posts, we will tell you more (with plenty of photo’s) about these activities.
Wet and Dusty Roads 
Beautiful pictures. You have an eye for this. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks for reading – yes, we love the outdoors!
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What a beautiful place you live in. I can’t wait to read your “ten top tips” in more detail.
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Yes, we are very fortunate. I still need to post the last two “fun stuff” … but for that, we have to get to the golf course and take a few road trips … ugh Covid!!
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It’s OK, I have not played golf for over 30 years now and could never break 20 for a handicap but I think you mentioned earlier that Gary Player had designed the course so it must be good.
Can you go on road trips under whatever restrictions you have now?
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Berto plays golf for the fun of it (think his handicap is 18) … I play when we go the Mashie course. But this golf course (yes, indeed designed by the famous Gary Player) is really beautiful, so we’ll have to go there and take a couple of pictures … all masked up of course!
We are on Level 3 (not always sure what it means …), but know we are allowed to take road trips … but I want to take some photo’s of the beaches of the nearby towns, but we are not allowed to go on the beaches (we need to be 100m from the water 😕). And then there’s this beautiful winery, but it’s not open – no alcohol sales are currently permitted.
So yes, it is a bit of a challenge at the moment … but I presume it’s the same for everyone worldwide …
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If Berto is playing off 18 he is dong well.
Like you, I have no idea what our current restrictions are. All I know is that I am living in a police state, where they have been given virtually unlimited powers, and I am under house arrest. I an afraid this situation will exist here for at least another year and then will only be slightly eased. Frankly, the /government have shown themselves to be what they are, excellent at self-promotion and completely incompetent at governing.
Why can you not go within 100 metres of the water? That is odd. Is it to stop people swimming together? The Chinese virus is airborne, not waterborne. It seems your Government is as clueless as mine!
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My thoughts exactly … my common sense is telling me that it’s much safer to be in the water or on the beach (where there is ample fresh air) as instead crowds of people cramped together in shopping malls. And I think you’re right that this will last at least another year – who would have thought a year ago these things would ever be possible … 😳
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I know, it is depressing really.
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I forgot to mention that my (Afrikaans) great grandmother who lived in this area met her future husband here and he was a Norwegian sailor that absconded and stayed in Saldana Bay.
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Wow, that is an amazing story 😲 … can’t you work this story in with your future Afrikaans language and heritage posts? I think it will be fascinating to read about this.
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Yes I would like to… I am doing a bit more research… Involving one of my mother’s distant cousins and I will definitely be writing about it.
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Looking forward to that!
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