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Nr 9 of … 10 FUN THINGS TO DO IN LANGEBAAN (South Africa)

SHORT ROAD TRIPS TO NEIGHBOURING TOWNS

While we think Langebaan is one of the most beautiful coastal towns on the West Coast (yes, we are biased), there are a couple of other neighbouring towns that are also worth a visit … and they are all within a radius of 15 – 60km (9 – 37 miles).

In this post, we will list a few places we’ve visited before. Some of them are not towns, but favourite camping spots and then there are some towns we don’t mention as we are only concentrating on the coastal towns … well, except for two very interesting places, but that is for a reason … ☺️ (which we will reveal towards the end).

We have not even mentioned Vredenburg (a lively town on the West Coast), as well as Velddrif and Port Owen (beautiful little villages that are certainly worth a visit) … maybe we will do a separate posts on these towns later.

Let’s start with the furthest town up north from Langebaan:

Paternoster – 38km (23 miles) from Langebaan:

Paternoster is one of the oldest fishing villages on the West Coast of South Africa. The origin of the name remains unknown … but some people believe that the name, which mean “Our Father” in Latin, refers to prayers said by Catholic Portuguese seamen when they became shipwrecked.

The beautiful stretched out beach of Paternoster

Although Paternoster is quite small (their population is probably around 2500), it is a sought-after tourist destination – known for its crayfish and the white-washed fishermen’s cottages.

Seagulls on Paternoster’s beach
Fishermen’s boats

Tietiesbaai – 45km (28 miles) from Langebaan:

Now, mention the name Tietiesbaai in a polite conversation, some eyebrows might raise. The truth is that the name (which never got translated from Afrikaans to English) originated from two large rocks that indeed look somewhat like a pair of boobs – what can I say … we South Africans do have some humour.

Tietiesbaai as seen from a high sand dune
The small bay of Tietiesbaai

This is one of our favourite camping spots! Tietiesbaai has a beautiful and unspoiled beach in the Cape Columbine Nature Reserve.

During a long weekend Tietiesbaai are transformed into a tented neighbourhood

The last manually controlled and first lighthouse to be seen by ships coming from Europe, can be found here.

The lighthouse at Tietiesbaai (Credit: Stock photo’s)

When we’re camping at Tietiesbaai (and we’re fortunate that the crayfish season is open), we catch and prepare them for dinner on the beach … so called ‘camping 5-star dining’!

Cooked crayfish on the beach

Sea Shack – 43km (26 miles) from Langebaan:

Between Paternoster and Tietiesbaai, is a little gem called Sea Shack – ideal for all the glampers. It’s your ultimate luxury camping spot.

The ‘shacks’ at Sea Shack

We’ve been here in 2019 and this is really THE ultimate glamping experience on the beach. You only need to pack your clothes and food and voila – you are camping in style!

You’ll never get tired with this view – sitting on a beach chair, while sipping on a cocktail

If you want to read more about our week-long glamping experience at Sea Shack, you can find it under Sea Shack on our blog.

Trekoskraal – 31km (19 miles) from Langebaan:

This is our favourite wild camping spot close to home! There are no facilities here – you need to bring everything you’ll need for camping (but leave the TV and the microwave).

The serene beauty of Trekoskraal
Camping at Trekoskraal

I have no idea where the name Trekoskraal originated from (a ‘kraal’ is an Afrikaans and Dutch word for an enclosure for cattle or other livestock) and since part of this area belongs to privately owned farms, I suspect the name derives from the farming activities.

Once again, this is a popular spot for catching crayfish. We’ve camped many times here before when the crayfish season was open and over a fire, cooked the crayfish to enjoy at our camp site next to the roaring ocean.

Diving for crayfish
Crayfish at Trekoskraal

Jacobsbaai – 25km (15 miles) from Langebaan:

Jacobsbaai was originally found as a small town on the farmland and registered as ‘109 Jacobsbaai’. The name is said to have evolved from the Frenchman, called Jacques Titius, who was a colonial trader on the West Coast.

The small picturesque coastal hamlet of Jacobsbaai

Most of the houses in Jacobsbaai are holiday homes and during the peak holiday season, this little town comes alive with families seeking after sun and sea.

Yes, you’ve guessed it … another popular crayfish spot. In the middle of this photo you will be able to spot a diver’s head …

Another popular attraction in Jacobsbaai is The Pixie and Fairy Village. This unique setting was created from “Pixie” Maritz’ imagination – she grew up amid the misty forests, rivers and mountains in Kwa-Zulu Natal … where the ‘river fairies’ inhabited the river banks.

The wonder-world of The Pixie and Fairy Village
Even the famous Gulliver found a home here
The little pixies got their own castle – of course they do

There is a small entrance fee to be paid to Mama Pixie herself. You will be amazed at all these beautiful creatures and won’t be sorry to get lost in this little village!

Saldanha Bay – 19km (11 miles) from Langebaan:

Saldanha Bay’s history is strongly associated with early European exploration and the development of Table Bay (in Cape Town). It was named after Antonio de Saldanha, the Portuguese captain of a ship which visited the Cape in 1503.

The bay at Saldanha Bay

This seaside village has the largest and deepest natural bay in South Africa and is dominated by the Sishen-Saldanha iron-ore project. It is also home to a Naval training base, the South African Military Academy and a whole fleet of fishing vessels that add a particular character to the bay.

An unspoiled beach are enjoyed by both locals and tourists

Yzerfontein – 54km (33 miles) from Langebaan:

When you travel to Cape Town from Langebaan, the small harbour town of Yzerfontein will be on your way.

Beautiful houses on the beach front of Yzerfontein

This little town was established in the 1930’s when the Katz family bought the Yzerfontein farm (meaning “Iron Fountain”). The farm developed into a small harbour town, known for its 16-mile beach.

Just a very small part of the 16-mile beach

Dassen Island lies about 9km off Yzerfontein. It is South Africa’s second largest island, after Robben Island in Table Bay. The island was proclaimed a nature reserve in 1987 and is managed by Cape Nature Conservation.

The lighthouse on Dassen Island can claim to be the most isolated manned lighthouse on the South African seaboard

Our last two places are different than all of the above. The one is not a town, nor a camping spot and the other one is not a seaside town … but absolutely worth a visit!

West Coast Farmstall – 46km (28 miles) from Langebaan:

We do love a good farmstall and the West Coast Farmstall is a very popular resting spot for travelers.

The beautiful West Coast Farmstall’s outside eating area

We love having a breakfast here on our way to Cape Town or even just a cup of coffee. They have a great gift shop and sell fresh bread, cookies, rusks and even wine. Oh yes, they do claim they have the best pies in South Africa … well, we’ve tasted them and they are pretty damn good!

There are also a bird sanctuary and you can wander through while admiring the many bird species
Even the wild birds enjoy a bath at West Coast Farmstall

Darling – 60km (37 miles) from Langebaan:

Darling’s very original welcoming board

Darling is our only inland town that features in this post. It is such a … well, darling little town – named after Sir Charles Henry Darling who came in 1851 to the Cape as Lieutenant Governor.

There are so many places to see in Darling: Darling Museum, Darling Brew for their craft beer, “Evita se Perron” (a restaurant/function/deli) that was the brain child of Pieter-Dirk Uys, well-known South African satirist, as well as all Darling’s wonderful little restaurants.

But to cover all these wonderful things, is an article worth dedicating to Darling only …

… For this post, we will focus on Darling Olives, a family-run business located on Alexanderfontein Estate (just outside Darling).

The old, yet beautiful building of Darling Olives

We just LOVE olives and here at Darling Olives, you will find a lot of things with the word ‘olive’ in … pastes, pesto’s, rubs, chocolates, even lip balm and soap and wine too … oh yes, and of course olives!

The shop inside Darling Olives

There is an impressive tasting room surrounded with old world charm where you can sit at a long table and taste their entire range of olive products … a real feast!

Our shopping included olive oil, olives, body lotion, soap and wine

We can tell you so much more about all the other amazing places close to Langebaan … but in the meantime, I’m sure you can see it will be hard to get bored when you live here!

Thanks for taking a road trip with us, Wet and Dusty Roads 💌.

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35 thoughts on “Nr 9 of … 10 FUN THINGS TO DO IN LANGEBAAN (South Africa)”

  1. Wow, there are so many different things you got to do while exploring Langebaan! A little bit for every taste. Those empty white sanded beaches look dreamy, I would do anything to just lay there 🙂 And the Pixie and Fairy Village looks adorable – perfect to satisfy the inner child within every adult! the olive shop looks like something you could easily find in Portugal as well, but hands down to that packaging, it makes it look so posh 😎

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    1. We love the beach too … I’m sure you can see that’s why we never get bored 😁. Oh, the Pixie and Fairy Village was an absolute treat (your right about the inner child in us!).
      And there’s just no ways that I can ever walk out empty handed at Darling Olives – I feel like a queen just by buying a tin of olive oil and that is all thanks to their packaging (as you’ve rightly mentioned) 😊. Thanks for reading.

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    1. The Fairy and Pixie Village was such a surprise to find! We’ve had a great time there and a lovely chat with Mama Pixie ☺️. Absolutely – no visit to SA is complete without a drive down the West Coast (and it is just “around the corner” from Cape Town)!

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  3. What lovely places, the bay at Tietiesbaai looks gorgeous and despite not being a camping sort of person I quite fancy the idea of glamping but haven’t experienced it yet. We’ve enjoyed crayfish in Finland in late July. Delicious but incredible messy, no wonder the restaurants there provide bibs!

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    1. Sea Shack is the perfect place to relax in style (without the hassle of camping) … and close enough to explore all the other beautiful towns 👍🏻.
      You’re right about the messiness of eating crayfish – at least, on the beach there’s no reason why we can’t do it with our hands 😉 (but then you have to dip yourself in the sea water afterwards).
      Thanks for reading and your comment Marion.

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    1. Yes, the beach at Tietiesbaai is probably one of the most unspoiled and truly beautiful beaches we’ve been to. At least, there is electricity and ablution facilities (though, only cold water) … so, it’s a bit in-between wild- and luxury camping 😉.

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      2. I think it’s more like an unwritten rule that most of the houses in the beach towns must be white. As for the cars and RV’s – it is very interesting that percentage wise, most of these in South Africa are white … and that’s probably because of our hot summers (white or even lighter coloured cars don’t attract that much sunlight).
        As for the boats … your guess as good as mine … I think the guy that painted these, only had blue paint … 😅.

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  9. Ok, I have added South Africa to my list of must-visits! For some reason, I had imagined its coast lines to be similar to most of my country’s: overly developed and overrun with fast food places. I’m impressed! So beautiful and so much charm! Thanks for sharing, Corna. I’ll let you know when I’m coming! 😊🌞👌

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    1. Here on the West Coast you won’t see any overly developed places (and further up north, you will really struggle to find any fast food restaurants) … just kilometres and kilometres of unspoiled beaches.
      No problem Lisa, whenever you’re on this side of the world (and close to Langebaan), I’ll stick you for a cocktail 🍹 to sit and enjoy at the beach!

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  10. I’m afraid at my age it would have to be the “Glamping” for me…..I am going to look these places up because I have no idea where they are! We were supposed to go to Africa last year for a month cruising and “Glamping” for a week in Africa prior to the cruise…….now that is all going to be re-scheduled when the cruise lines add them again…….I have to live to be 100 to get everything in! We have also thought about a six month “Around the World” cruise just to get to the places we haven’t been (and would like to) in one fell swoop! We’ll see how all that shakes out! Cady

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    1. 😲 Cady, 100 you say 👀👀 … well, then I wish you a prosperous life and good health!
      All these places we’ve mentioned, are very close to Cape Town (160km or 99 miles). That cruise around the world sound like a super idea to visit places you would not normally get to see … whenever that will be possible … crossing fingers 🤞

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  11. I think you make a good advertisement for the area 👍I have been to Yzerfontein, Tittiesbaai, Saldanha, Darling and Parternoster but I should visit the other areas. Have you been to Arora? If so how far is that from you?

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    1. Thanks Morag 😊 … we love the West Coast and often travel between the little towns – great that you’ve also had the opportunity to visit them!
      Yes, we’ve been to Aurora a couple of times – sometimes we take a day trip on the gravel roads to see more of the inland towns (like Aurora and Redelinghuys). Aurora is about 75km from Langebaan – not a big town, but they have a beautiful church (and we’ve enjoyed a nice cup of coffee there and a wonderful chat to the locals) … maybe we’ll do a post someday on these little towns as well ..

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  13. I’ve learned so much on this trip, and to think I almost missed it, thank you Corna 🌸💕 I’ve visited a few of the neighbouring towns that you mentioned and I must remember all the other great places you shared as there’s so much more to see and do. St Helena Bay is also close to Saldana Bay, if my memory serves me right?

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    1. Thank you for visiting this post Henrietta – I almost forgot about this one ☺️. It’s wonderful that you also had the opportunity to visit some of these places (then you know exactly what I’m talking about). You’re absolutely right about St Helena Bay being close to Saldanha Bay (it’s a mere 30km). Hopefully we can camp there during this year (it’s very popular and one struggles to get a booking) … it’s a beautiful place (thank you for the reminder)! 🌞⛺️

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      1. I must admit it was more passing by and admiring places and sometimes a bit of popping in, nothing in detail like you did. I’m happy that I could help and remind you about St Helena Bay, hopefully you’ll get a booking as I’m waiting in anticipation to join you and enjoy through reading about your trip😊

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  14. Pingback: FAIRY AND PIXIE VILLAGE, JACOBS BAY – Wet and Dusty Roads

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