August 2026

Wild Camping on the rugged coastline of the West Coast

With a long weekend ahead of us, it was time to go on a wild camping weekend with friends. As you might know, the West Coast is a favourite destination for us when it comes to wild camping – pristine beaches and the wild waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Let’s go!

But as always, we love to show you what our road trip to our campsite looked like. The small town of Lutzville (the last town before we reached our campsite) is about 325km/203 miles north of Cape Town. So, we left our farmhouse before sunrise to arrive at our campsite by lunchtime.

Sunrise on our way to our wild campsite

Canola fields are in full bloom

Mist hangs over the valley as we drive up Piekenierskloof Pass

No mist on top of the mountain pass, but when we came down, we could see a thick mist cloud again

Driving in the early morning mist for a while and then clear skies

Whenever we drive on the N7 highway, we always try to stop at Trawal. If I had to describe Trawal, I would say it’s more of a hub than a small town. Trawal is surrounded by farms and known for various fruits and wine grapes. But it’s their biltong (the tastier version of America’s beef jerky) that they’re really known for. We bought a bag for the road and also for our weekend of wild camping – you can’t go camping without having biltong.

Berto likes his biltong with a bit of fat

In Lutzville, it was time to do the last bit of shopping for bread and other fresh produce and also to fill up on enough water in our tanks. As you already know by now, when we go camping along the West Coast, there is no water, electricity, or ablution – that’s why they call it wild camping, right? The last 30km/18 miles to our campsite were on a fairly good dirt road.

Hitting the dirt road with the Atlantic Ocean in front of us

For many decades, families from the surrounding area (farms) would usually camp near the sea during the December holidays. Over the years, they informally ‘claimed’ their camping spots and even built quite impressive wind shelters out of stones and a fire pit. These spots would then be named after someone, like Gert du Toit se Baai where we planned to wild camp.

Our view for the next few days

There are lots of camping spots at Gert du Toit se Baai and with no one else around, we could literally choose any campsite.

(Note: If you want to camp here during the peak season in December, it can get very busy. Then it’s best to ask other campers if you can pitch your tent on a specific spot. Some families, who have been camping here for decades, get first choice – let’s call it a ‘gentleman’s agreement’.)

Our rooftop tent and our friends’ caravan are set up

We were quite impressed with the fire pit. There were three fire pits where we could make a fire (and no surprise; we used all three during the weekend). With lunch consisting of filled wraps, we made ourselves comfortable in our camp chairs and enjoyed the fresh air and views over the ocean.

Lunch and the fire pit(s) at our campsite

As always, the West Coast didn’t hold back with its beautiful sunsets. We made a fire early to kick off the weekend with a proper ‘braai’. It got pretty cold the moment the sun went down, and that’s where the extra fire pits came in handy – we could use one fire pit for the ‘braai’ while making a proper fire in the other to keep us warm.

Sunset on the West Coast

Colourful sunset

Our campfire(s)

The next morning dawned fairly cold, but with blue skies we knew that lovely sunny weather was waiting for us.

Coffee, tea and rusks for an early morning breakfast

Our solar panels provided enough power for the duration of the long weekend

Later in the morning, it was actually quite warm and we went for a walk along the jeep track to see if there were any wildflowers in the field. We had a relatively dry winter, which unfortunately didn’t produce the large patches of wildflowers like in previous years. It was still nice tough to see quite a few colourful wildflower bushes on our stroll.

Going for a walk

Pretty Gazanias

Back at the campsite, we snacked on the previous night’s leftovers. It was nice to sit in our camp chairs with a book and listen to the roar of the waves.

Our view for the rest of the day

Family of our friends who live in Lutzville arrived later that afternoon to spent the evening with us. Japie made a delicious chicken ‘potjie’ (stew) on the fire and Berto baked a pot bread (‘potbrood’). This rustic bread is a traditional South African favourite, baked in a cast-iron ‘potjie’ over coals.

Berto kneads the dough until smooth and elastic

Dough rising, covered in a black bag in the sun

The three fire pits came in handy again. In one, Japie could make the chicken ‘potjie’, the other one Berto used for the pot bread, and the third fire pit provided heat during the cold evening.

These fire pits were built by a very clever camper

After the pot bread had been on the fire for approximately an hour (with coals under the pot as well as on top of the lid), we could enjoy fresh bread along with Japie’s delicious chicken ‘potjie’. I just love camping food.

Berto made the perfect pot bread

After another beautiful sunset, we moved our chairs closer to the warm fire. It was a perfect way to end the day.

Another beautiful sunset

The next morning started foggy and cold with a southerly wind that had already been blowing since the early morning hours. Fog and wind are two weather elements the West Coast is very well known for.

Cold morning

With the wind blowing stronger and stronger throughout the day, we spent most of our time behind the wind shelter. A glass of wine and cheese platter, however, quickly made us forget about the wind.

Cheese platter on the West Coast

After our friends prepared food the night before, it was now our turn to serve dinner. Berto made his famous leg of lamb on the spit, and I made caramelised sweet potatoes and boiled baby potatoes.

Berto preparing leg of lamb on the spit

Leg of lamb on the spit

From here onwards, things quickly escalated. With the wind turning into a full-blown storm, we had to put out the fire after the food was done and ate inside the sheltered area of our friends’ caravan. (Though, Berto quickly made time to capture the setting sun amid the strong wind – again, stunning.)

Our last sunset at Gert du Toit se Baai

There are unfortunately no photos of the delicious food because, during violent gusts of wind, we had to took down our rooftop tent and also all the sails of our friends’ caravan to make sure it doesn’t tear during the night.

Now, this meant that Berto and I had to sleep on the front seats of our ‘bakkie’ (which reminds me of a night at Sossusvlei in Namibia last year when we camped in a sandstorm – read here). 

We know that when you camp on the West Coast, there is always the possibility of very strong winds. And amazingly, despite the wind that really yanked and tugged at our ‘bakkie’ through the night, we slept very well. (I’m actually glad we didn’t sleep in our rooftop tent – if you ask me, that would have been a night of horror).

And just like that, our long weekend of wild camping has come to an end. The good news was that the raging wind of the previous day and night have calmed down but unfortunately it was time to pack up. We leave with beautiful memories and hope to be back soon. (As always, we quickly forget about the wind and just remember the beautiful scenery, good food, and great time with friends.)

Nature’s own television