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West coast route

Coastal Route North R27 - The Cape West Coast

Driving distance: Approximately 500 - 600 km.
Suggested minimum travelling time: 3 Days

Tired of driving? Go Shark Cage Diving!!

Ask any group of South Africans about the Cape West Coast and they'll immediately talk of fresh seafood and spring flowers. And these are undoubtedly two of the biggest attractions of this beautiful area - but they're only two amongst the hundreds of treasures you'll find when you follow the R27 northwards from Cape Town to Vanrhynsdorp.

Cape Town - Milnerton - Bloubergstrand:

The road takes you through the Cape Town suburbs of Milnerton and Bloubergstrand and it's from here that all photographers love to snap that famous picture of Table Mountain rising above the sparkling waters of Table Bay.

Atlantis - Darling:

Turn right onto the R307 for a short inland detour via the town of Atlantis and the old Mamre Mission Station to Darling, which lies within the West Coast Biosphere Reserve and boasts some of the region's best flower-watching (the whole of the West Coast comes alive with flowers in spring July, August, September and early October - and you really shouldn't miss the show. It's one of the world's great natural phenomena).

Yzerfontein:

Return to the coast along the R315 and visit the resort town of Yzerfontein for water sports, year-round birding and, in late winter and early summer, exceptional whale watching.

West Coast National Park:

Follow the R27 again and turn off to the West Coast National Park, which protects large areas of the richest estuary in South Africa - the Langebaan Lagoon. A little further and you'll come to the resort town of Langebaan itself.

Saldanha, Jacobsbaai, Paternoster, St Helena Bay and Stompneus Bay:

Saldanha lies at the southern end of a massive peninsula, and within thirty kilometres of the town you'll find some of South Africa's most celebrated fishing villages: Jacobsbaai, Paternoster, St Helena Bay and Stompneus Bay - all of which have become must-see destinations for any visitor to the West Coast. They're also popular destinations for whale watching, birding and other equally hurried pursuits.

Vredenburg:

Vredenburg, the commercial centre of the West Coast, lies a little inland and almost plumb in the middle of the peninsula. A 40 kilometre detour on the R45 will bring you to Hopefield, where important archaeological sites and fossil fields provide a key to the area's intriguing and ancient history.

Velddrif & Laaiplek:

Back on the R27 and travelling northwards again, your next destinations are Velddrif - with its deep water marina - and Laaiplek, where ornithologists have recorded more than 200 different species of birds.

From here you could chose to follow the untarred coastal road via Dwarskersbos to Elandsbaai, with its world class left-handed surf break. But please check road conditions before you leave Velddrif: if the locals advise against taking the coastal route, you might prefer to take the road via the artists colony of Aurora and the village of Redelinghuys, from where you'll turn left on the R366 to Elandsbaai.

Leipoldtville & Lamberts Bay:

Now the road turns inland via Leipoldtville and returns to the coast again at the resort town of Lamberts Bay - which is famous for its seafood feasts and for Bird Island, where you can watch thousands of yellow-faced, blue-eyed Cape Gannets from a specially constructed hide.

Doringbaai, Strandfontein and Papendorp:

Northwards again on a gravel road to the village of Doringbaai. From Doringbaai there is a tar road to Strandfontein and to Papendorp, where the Olifants River meets the Atlantic Ocean.

Ebenhaezer - Koekenaap:

Take a short detour off the R362 to the mission station at Ebenhaezer, and then drive to Lutzville and Koekenaap, where you'll explore a local wine route and the great outdoors - adventures, canoeing and camping are particularly popular here.

Vanrhynsdorp:

From Lutzville the R363 brings you to Vredendal with its artists colony and wine route, and finally to Vanrhynsdorp. This area is rich in succulents, some found nowhere else in the world.

And all along the way you'll have met wonderfully hospitable people, seen nature at its most fascinating and revelled in the wild, rugged Africanness of the Cape's West Coast.

Back to Cape Town:

From Vanrhynsdorp, you could return to Cape Town along the N7 - the Inland Route via Piketberg, Mooreesburg and Malmesbury.

Courtesy: Satour

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