July 2024

We recently flew to our beloved West Coast for the first time this year for a quick visit. It was great to catch up with my mum and we also had a chance to do a few things around our house that needed some attention.

A severe winter storm hit the Western Cape Province and West Coast the week before our arrival. We decided to drive to Velddrif, a neighbouring town of our hometown Langebaan, to see how full the Berg River is after the recent rainfall. Velddrif is 41km/25 miles from Langebaan and only a 30-minute drive via the R27.

We’ve crossed the Berg River over the Carinus Bridge to visit Velddrif. The bridge is currently being refurbished and we had to wait a while on the bridge at a ‘stop and go’ sign before we could continue. This gave us the opportunity to take photos of the beautiful flamingos on the Berg River.

Flamingos in the Berg River (the flock name for flamingos is ‘flamboyance’ – isn’t that lovely)

The small town of Velddrif was first discovered in 1497 by the Portuguese seafarer Vasco da Gama. The well-known Berg River (294km long) flows into the Atlantic Ocean here.

The water had a brown muddy colour which was clear evidence that the Berg River was in full flood.

Berg River in flood

Bokkomlaan:

We first drove to Bokkomlaan, a Heritage site and the oldest street in Velddrif. This is the home of a small bokkom industry.

  • ‘Bokkoms’ are mullet that are salted, strung into bunches and then hung up to dry. They are unique to this part of the West Coast.

This is what ‘bokkoms’ look like

There is an art studio, souvenir shop and restaurant in Bokkomlaan and also small buildings that have been declared national monuments. Unfortunately, the road was closed due to the river bursting its bank and we had to park the car and continue walking down the famous street until the water prevented us from going any further.

Bokkomlaan is flooded

There are several rickety wooden jetties that were all submerged and the river reached some of the buildings.

Wooden jetties under water

Private jetties under water

Bokkomlaan’s buildings flooded by the Berg River

As we walked back to our car, we discussed the devastating impact that a flooded river can have and hoped that the damage to the ever-popular Bokkomlaan was not too big and that businesses in this historical street would be able to reopen soon.

A bit of colour in the grey water

More colour in the form of bright orange flowers

Laaiplek:

Our next stop was at Laaiplek hotel and harbour. Laaiplek is a neighbourhood of Velddrif and its name derived from its function – a place where one can offload the catch of the day on the pier.

Even here we could see how strong the Berg River was flowing – luckily it didn’t look like any damage had been caused by the full river.

View over the Berg River from Laaiplek Hotel

Wooden jetty at Laaiplek Hotel

Laaiplek’s harbour was the site of the first fishing factory and today this harbour is still adorned with a colourful collection of working fishing boats.

Fishing vessel at Laaiplek Harbour

Colourful fishing boat

Looks like this boat is in the process of being refurbished

Due to the rough sea, there were quite a few fishing boats anchored and we had the opportunity to walk from boat to boat to get a closer look.

Fishing boats

The Doloreze fishing boat is painted in such vibrant colours

Fishing boats

More fishing boats

Fishing boat up close

Anchovy nets and buoys

While Berto walked towards the harbour wall, my mother and I went browsing in a souvenir shop. After buying a few lovely things, we joined Berto in the cold wind on the beach.

Rough sea

Kelp on the beach

Seagulls and container ships on the horizon

Harbour wall at Laaiplek

Harbour wall

Port Owen:

Port Owen is a man-made marina in the town of Velddrif and surrounded on three sides by the Berg River. It is a popular holiday destination and tourists like to come here during the summer months.

The marina, which usually boasts lovely blue water, was brown today and it looked like the river has overflowed its banks here too.

Port Owen Marina

Port Owen Marina

Yachts at the marina

The marina is surrounded by salt marsh. This area is renowned for its bird life – more than 360 different sea, land and river birds can be found here.

We found more flamingos at Port Owen Marina

Single flamingo

Flamingo in flight

Old boat on salt marsh

Teyana’s Restaurant & Pub:

After visiting all these places, we were quite hungry. There was a cold wind blowing from the snow-capped mountains and rain began to fall lightly – this was a clear sign that we should find a (warm) restaurant where we could enjoy lunch.

Teyana’s Restaurant & Pub in Velddrif has a beautiful river view, but today’s weather forced us inside where we found a table near a warm fire.

View of the flooded Berg River from Teyana’s

Restaurants on the bank of the Berg River

Entrance at Teyana’s Restaurant & Pub

We were welcomed by the staff at Teyana’s and Elouise, who served us, was like a warm ray of sunshine on this cold day. She made sure that we soon got a bottle of good red wine on the table (and Coke for Berto because he was driving).

Find the petite Elouise behind the bar inside Teyana’s

Teyana’s is your typical West Coast restaurant. Although rustic and casual, the people here are warm and friendly and will treat you like one of their own. Their fish, calamari and chips are freshly prepared and delicious. This is another reminder why we love the West Coast of South Africa so much.

Wine and a delicious lunch

After enjoying a great lunch, it was time to return to our home in Langebaan. We spent a wonderful morning in Velddrif, Laaiplek and Port Owen.

We saw a lovely poem on the wall at Teyana’s that perfectly describes Velddrif (and the West Coast). It is written in Afrikaans – here is our translation to English:

“West Coast”

Morning mist and flower season

Mussels and fat galjoen (a type of fish)

The Bokkoms hangs on a string

Here we let the (fishing) reels sing.

Time stands still here.

That’s where we live!

Poem about the West Coast at Teyana’s

We are happy about the good rainfall the West Coast received (it will surely result in a beautiful wild flower season). However, we also hope that the flood damage did not affect the economy of these towns too much and look forward to visiting again.