August 2023

In this post, we visit the last beach during our recent trip to Langebaan. For us, the colour of the lagoon’s water at Shark Bay is the most beautiful in this area. The turquoise-coloured water has a definite resemblance to the Mediterranean Sea – known for its deep blue colour, which is caused by the high concentration of salt in the water.

The moment we drove over the hill and saw the waters of Shark Bay in front of us, we just sighed – that is truly ‘Bay-utiful’!

First sight of the turquoise water of Shark Bay

Shark Bay gets its name from the many (harmless) sand sharks, so you don’t need to worry about any sharks with sharp white teeth when you want to have a fun day in the water.

The beach at Shark Bay

If you want to learn kitesurfing, Shark Bay is the ideal place for that. The water is flat and shallow with a constant wind. Oh, and the water is relatively warm compared to the rest of the Atlantic Ocean.

Shallow water at Shark Bay

There is a small parking area, which by the way, can fill up pretty quickly during the summer months. The Shark Bay Shack restaurant has both indoor and outdoor seating (if you want to sit outside, there are stairs leading to the roof of the restaurant where you can enjoy a lovely view over the lagoon). Here you can buy coffee, cold drinks, ice cream, and snacks to enjoy while admiring the breathtaking views.

Views from the top seating area of the restaurant

We were once again happy to see all the beautiful spring wildflowers. At this time of the year, you really don’t have to travel far to see how colourful nature is in and around Langebaan.

African daisies in the parking area

The road that passes by Shark Bay has the perfect view of the lagoon. We were really lucky to have a beautiful sunny day to enjoy the vistas.

Lovely views over the lagoon and Shark Bay

We stopped one last time to touch and smell the wildflowers. Who knows if we will be lucky enough to see this wonder of nature again next year.

Wildflowers

On our way back home, we saw something moving in the long grass next to the road. It was a small antelope and a bit difficult to identify. But after taking a look on a fellow blogger’s website (De Wets Wild), it looks like it could possibly be an oribi. (Dries, can you please help us here). Either way, it was wonderful to see this beautiful wild animal grazing almost in town.

Update (11 September 2023): Dries from De Wets Wild identified the little antelope as a ‘grys duikertjie’ (also known as the ‘grey duiker’ or ‘bush duiker’). Thanks Dries!

Small antelope (‘grysduikertjie’)

Back home we could look at the wildflowers behind our house one last time. Later that evening we also admired the rising moon peeking through a few wispy clouds. It was good to be home again.

Wildflowers at the back of our house

Hazy moon

In our next post (read here) we will take you along as we drive from Langebaan back to our temporary home in East London (1,100km/683 miles). Yes, it was exhausting, but a beautiful drive.