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ABOUT LANGEBAAN
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Langebaan was once home to the largest whaling station in the Southern Hemisphere, which fortunately is now no longer in operation!
Situated on South Africa's beautiful West Coast, Langebaan offers the unique waters of the Lagoon and Saldahna Bay as it's main draw.
The warm, safe waters allow windsurfers, Kiteboarders, Kayakers and fishermen breath taking views and some of the best conditions in the world!
The town it's self is home to some very original South African gems, Die Strandloper, Froggies, Pearly's on The Beach and of course "Eve's Footprint!"
Eve's Footprint was discovered on the entrance to the Lagoon and is one of the earliest proof of modern man's or woman's existence on this planet!
Over 170,000 years old, this fossil shows how people have been coming to this town for a lot longer than we thought! Even a pair of bindings were found close by, so perhaps she was a wakeboarder!
There are a lot of activities around and about Langebaan and it is pretty hard to not enjoy yourself whilst here.
Golf Courses, a National Park, a Casino at Club Mykonos, Horseback rides, Sky diving, Helicopter rides, Fishing, bird watching,
whale watching, paint ball, windsurfing, kitesurfing, surfing, partying, sea kayaking, and of course a Saturday night and the world famous "Flamingos" night club!
Yes time flies by and Langebaan has a lot more to offer than your first impression gives of this sleepy town! Come and experience life "West Coast" style!
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LOCAL INFORMATION
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Eating Out
Eating out in Langebaan has changed dramatically going from 1 eating establishment 15 years ago to 18 today.
Starting with the historic venue of Geelbek at the top of the Langebaan Lagoon and in the West Coast National Park, where lots of effort is put into service and excellent food. Winner of the Diners Club Gold/Award wine list. This venue is perfect for functions and specialises in weddings. No trip into the park without a visit to the Geelbek restaurant, with curio shop and info center.
Coming into town we find the Farm House Hotel, an original Farm House built in 1860 and restored in the true Cape Dutch tradition. Four star accommodation and a Restaurant/Bar proud of excellent food and a Diners Club Diamond-Award winning wine list is awaiting you.
Pearly’s Restaurant is situated right on the Main Beach. Here one can enjoy a lunch overlooking the lagoon or a sundowner leading into a dinner. Experience one of the spectacular sunsets Langebaan has to offer. Choosing your meals from a well balanced menu.
Spinnakers Restaurant just around on Bree Street, also with view into the Bay, it is inviting with a blazing fire in winter and white table cloths on the veranda in summer, promising well presented food and friendly service.
Right next door is the Black Velvet Coffee Bar, known for super (Rooibos) Cappuccinos and home made cakes. Just the place to have a delicious breakfast or coffee and ”koek”.
Across the road in the Marra Centre we are going Italian in the Café San Marco. Bistro and Deli in one, you will be treated to true Italian ambiance whilst you are joining into the activity in the Square.
The new kid on the block in the Marra Centre, only opened End of May 2007. The Cattle Baron has made a name country wide for being “The Steak House”. Specializing in quality and professionalism, meats and trimmings are prepared à la perfection.
Still a little further up Bree Street, at Pan Cake Galore, you will find great value for money! And there is not only pan cakes on offer, choose from a full menu, try the waffles! The service is so friendly, it Oyster Catcher. Langebaan‘s very own Sushi Restaurant. The menu also has plenty to choose from for non Sushi lovers and the fish is guaranteed fresh!
On the road along the Beach (Main Road), Froggy’s Restaurant’s slogan is “simply delicious” this is a fact. Froggy’s has been open for 7 years and was able to keep the standard extremely high. If you want a special treat, book at Froggy’s!
Going toward Club Mykonos we find the well known Die Strandloper, offering an unforgettable eating experience. Join the lunch at 12, or dinner at 6. Expect to eat 10 courses from mussels through to Crayfish all prepared right there on the open fire. Enjoy the good life. Another great Wedding Venue.
On the Club Mykonos Premises the Bouzuki Reataurant in the Marina with a spacious Terrace overlooking the Yachts is famous for great Pizza’s. Enjoy a true Greek evening with lots of Ouzo (every Thursday) and Sirtaki.!
Arts and Craft
Langebaan has a great diversity of artists and crafters, some of which have been working in their field for years. The many activities and courses offered by those “who know what they’re doing” are inspiring Langebaaners and Visitors to discover their talents.
Art and Crafts in the Marra Square every 2nd Saturday of the month between 9am and 2pm. A painting, ceramic, mosaic or other artistic demonstration takes place either in the morning or afternoon – to be advised. Besides paintings on display, one can find ceramics, carved boats and birds, knitted scarves and jerseys, scrap booking, kiddies clothing, to name just a few, all hand made. Take the morning out and enjoy a cup of coffee as you watch the activities, you might even get treated to some life music often playing during the market times. Visit the boutiques and coffee shops around the square, and spoil yourself with something really Langebaan.
Every last Saturday of the month there is another lovely out door market at Denlyn Park. The market is taking place in the Play Park so it will be ideal to spend a morning there with your family and enjoy all the home made food and products.
The Bay Gallery, also on Marra Square has a wonderful selection of oils, pastels, acrylics, Watercolours, ceramics and mosaics. A wide variety of styles and techniques, including texture, can be seen in paintings that mostly reflect the West Coast in all her finery during flower season, the boats in Paternoster, Langebaan Lagoon and on the Berg River. Bay Gallery also offers a framing service and art supplies by Frame Domain.
Wellness and Sports
It seems that Langebaan is developing fast into a Wellness orientated little town, offering more than enough possibilities for everyone to improve on beauty, well being and health.
The surroundings of the town are inviting for long hikes, in the West Coast National Park, where one can choose hikes from 4 to 16 km. Just ask at the gate for your map. Walking along the beach all the way from the town to Club Mykonos (and back), or from the Farm House Hotel along the ridge to the Gate of the National Park (and back) gives you approx. 2 hrs of healthy activity and great sight seeing.
The Private Gym Studio out at Long Acres offers Spinning classes promising the best cardio and fun work out of your life time! The Gym also offers personal training, cardio, strength tone and stretch (on the premises or in the privacy of your own home).
Call to prevent disappointment, classes can be quite full.
Oxigim has been newly established in is to be found behind the Total Garage on the Way to Club Mykonos. The Gym offers group classes and a well balanced choice of training equipment. Dirk is the man to talk to and ask for more information and help.
In town as part of the Puza Moya Guest House, the Pilate Fitness Langebaan offers 4 classes per week, of Beginners and Intermediate Pilates lovers. There is no need to be super fit or super young, you also don’t need to become a member to join, just find out about times and enjoy a good work out, as and when you feel like it. Pilates Fitness is implementing Pilates plus classes, using accessories such as weights, balls and thera bands.
More Beauty orientated is Skin Treats, Beauty and Nail Studio at the Laguna Mall. Pampering you the professional way. Many years of experience have made Tanya, Marti and team capable to offer a place of excellent service and great knowledge.
Body and Soul is the name of a small private studio, where a qualified therapists eases aches and pains and releases stress via trigger point and deep tissue massage.
Ecology
The Langebaan Lagoon is home to the e West Coast National Park, and is a wetland of international importance. The Lagoon was shaped by the rise and fall of sea levels during prehistoric times. This is quite unlike typical lagoons which form where fresh water rivers enter the sea. The result is a purely salt water lagoon.
The bases of the Langebaan Lagoon ecosystem originates from the depths of the ocean with the ocean currents wind and sun all working together. The cold Benguela current that flows up the West Coast brings nutrient rich water from the Antarctic. A combination of the ocean current and prevailing south easterly winds result in a phenomenon known as up welling. This up welling forces nutrients consisting of decomposed matter from the seabed to be brought up to the surface along the shoreline. The daily change in the tides provides the mechanism to bring this nutrient rich water into the Lagoon.
In the Lagoon the filter feeders like muscles, mud prawns and blood worms rely on these nutrients from the decomposition cycle. These organisms then in turn provide a food source for fish and birds. The thousands of resident and migrant birds feed off the nutrients generated from the salt marshes as well as the sea creatures that live off these nutrients. The guano from these birds is returned to the lagoon and in turn provides vital nutrients back to the salt marshes.
Since this ecosystem is like a chain, if any of the links are removed then the entire system can stop functioning. So no matter how small or insignificant, every little piece of the ecosystem is there for a reason and critical to its sustained existence.
The scrubland surrounding Langebaan and its beautiful Lagoon is a prime example of Strandveld Fynbos (Coastal Fynbos) and forms part of the Cape Fynbos Floral Kingdom. The visitor can enjoy an all year round spectacular display of our floral splendor. The Strandveld also provides a home for various Fauna species which are even active in built up areas. Birds form an integral part of the ecology in the region providing a paradise to birding enthusiasts. These terrestrial elements are integrated into the overall Lagoon ecology.
Things to do / contact us for more details
The ultimate Horse Riding Experience you will get at the Windstone Riding Centre, only 15 min. from Langebaan, off the R 27. Outrides, even for the inexperienced, will take you into the Fossil Park and around the Windstone Farm, you will be safe and in good hands. Book a horse riding lesson and one of the qualified riding instructors will teach you the proper style.
The young and young at heart will find loads of fun at Sunny Park, right in the centre of the town. Putt put and Pool are on offer as well as Trampolines, jumping castles in varous shapes and sizes. The “Fuffy”, speak water slide promises fun for everyone.
This beautifully maintained course on the Langebaan Golf Estate bears testament to South African golf legend Gary Player's design philosophy with its well-positioned bunkers and his typical routing for golfers of varying skill levels. Add amazing natural rock formations, a large water feature to devide the fairways, a colorful carpet of natural wild flowers, abundant bird life and a variety of buck species, and you're guaranteed a great round of golf, regardless of your score.
It is evident that Langebaan Country Estate is only one growing season away from becoming a course that will stand out as an unforgettable experience.
This spectacular course plays 6359m from the championship tees (6994 yards) course rating 73,6071m from the club tees with a 72 course rating, 5875m from seniors tees with a 70 course rating and 5202m from the ladies tees with a 72 course rating.
Seeing Langebaan and it’s fabulous beaches yet from another perspective will be made possible by various yacht charting companies. Calypso Yacht Cruises offer trips into the lagoon or to the bird islands on board a 25 meter motorized tri-catamaran or other craft in their fleet. Call Yacht charter at Club Mykonos to book your own yacht and skipper. Marlon from Saldanha offers 2 hours trips around the lagoon leaving from the Protea Hotel. The tours are taking place every 2 hours starting from 10 am.
Hiking in the Saldanha Bay Nature Reserve is a treat for the eye and the body. Marlon is taking you around the shores of the rocky Cost to the beautiful North Head Lighthouse. Once coming back you may have a swim in the azure blue water of North Bay.
WEST COAST NATIONAL PARK
West Coast National Park: A pristine piece of nature nestling the shores of the lagoon, this park is the pride of Langebaan. The stunning lagoon (a protected wetland) provides a safe haven for thousands of birds and thus the park is aptly referred to as a “birding paradise” and forms part of the Flamingo Bird Route. Apart from birding, the area comes alive during the Flower Season when the Postberg Section of the park is open to the public (August and September) and the flower display is breath-taking. Whale watching is also possible from Tsaarsbank and swimming and picnicking are popular activities at Kraal Bay. The park also houses the historic Geelbek building, where today an award winning-restaurant serves delicious food to visitors. There is also an information centre and curio shop at Geelbek. Important fossil deposits are to be found in the park, with “Eve’s Footprint” near Kraal Bay estimated to be 117 000 years old. Cycling enthusiasts can enjoy the cycling routes and for those who wish to stay longer, there are unique overnight accommodation options such as Duinepos or even houseboat. This park is a definite “must visit” when in Langebaan.
West Coast Fossil Park: The West Coast Fossil Park is situated just outside Langebaan on the R45 and offers daily tours of the digging sites with professional and well informed guides. The many thousand of fossil bones from the digging sites continue to attract world-wide attention and a fascinating array of mammals are represented, including The African bear, sabre-tooth cats, giraffe, horses and even extinct elephant! Apart from the excellent tours, the Park also boasts a visitor centre, tea room and small shop. Horse riding trails and bid watching are other popular ways of spending time at the Fossil Park
Elandsfontein Private Nature Reserve: This 6000 hectare private reserve is best described as raw nature, encompassing huge vistas. It showcases a rich and diverse display of indigenous flora and fauna, as well as fossil deposits. Recent introductions are the 12 new game species which form part of an ongoing conservation project. Visitors will experience warm West Coast hospitality and can shoos 3-hour nature drives, walks or visits to the fossil sites, including refreshments on the way. The reserve is situated adjacent to the West Coast National Park, just off the R27 road.
FLOWERS
The West Coast is well known for the annual display of wild flowers that seem to burst into sight almost out of nowhere. Most people associate the “flower season” with the months of August and September and while these months are a good time to view flowers, many times the best flowers are already in bloom by the end of July and depending on weather conditions, flowers can even be seen during early October.
The Cape West Coast Peninsula Rainbow Flower Celebration therefore takes place from July right through to September and covers the towns of Langebaan, Hopefield, Saldanha, Vredenburg, St Helena Bay, Paternoster, Jacobs Bay and Britannia Bay. All these lovely West Coast Villages are not more than 2 hours drive from Cape Town – there is definitely no need to drive for hours before you see the wild flowers!
During these months, the area will be “blooming” with lots of extra activities and special offers to take advantage of. Numerous guesthouses and restaurants will have discounts, special rates and special menus available and so these are the months to visit the area. Flower viewing is best done at a relaxed pace and is many times dependent on weather conditions: why not stay overnight and ensure that you get to see as much as possible?
The appearance (and disappearance) of the wild flowers is dependent on many factor, but mostly on the amount and frequency of the rains and then the start of the warm berg winds. Flowers start to bloom from the north and then spread to the south as the weather becomes warmer. The flowers are at their best during the hottest time of the day (from 11 am to 3 pm). It is no use to set of early in the morning as most flowers will only open at temperatures of 17 degrees or higher and with the sun shining. If it is a cold, overcast or rainy day, they will not open at all. Once open, the flowers follow the sun as it rises and sets each day, so for the best display and photo opportunities, make sure the sun is behind you!
The West Coast National Park, situated on the banks of the Langebaan Lagoon is a very popular flower viewing destination. The official park flower season is from 1 August until 30 September when the protected area of Postberg within the Park, is open to public. The gates also remain open longer during these dates.
The beauty of the Cape West Coast Peninsula during flower season is like nothing you have experienced before. Come and celebrate with us!
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