Velddrif.

I initially found it a bit confusing trying to work out where Velddrif started and ended as there are no boundary boards or markers. You cross the bridge over the Berg River, about 170km’s from Cape Town and you are in Velddrif, turn left and follow the road, east to west,  and within the next 2 km’s you get to Port Owen and Laaiplek. The central feature of all three places is the Berg River.

Velddrif has been a popular holiday destination for many years and, as with Dwarskersbos 12kms  up the R27,  also originally belonged to the Smit family who farmed cattle in the area. However it was not cattle farming that put Velddrif on the map but the harvest from the sea that has always drawn people to the area. The first large fish factory was opened in 1944 and to this day tons of pilchards, snoek and harders are harvested from the cold Atlantic Ocean.

You can’t spend time in the area without trying the local delicacy called bokkoms. It is here that large schools of harders are netted and hung out to dry in the sun and turned into fish biltong (jerky).

The birding at Velddrif is outstanding with over 180 bird species having been recorded there. I wanted to go on the birding boat trip which is normally R80.00 for an hour and a half  but, because I was the only customer, it was just too expensive as I would have had to pay R200.00.

Tours to the salt factory are available on Thursdays and are by appointment only.

A number of tourism related businesses operate from Pelican Harbour creating an interesting stop for those exploring the attractions of Velddrif.

Overall I enjoyed exploring Velddrif and found the people  friendly and helpful. I was originally going to include Laaiplek and Port Owen in this post but there was more than enough for Velddrif to stand on its own.

Yzerfontein 2

I spent about a week in Yzerfontein and stayed at the caravan park which is situated on the northern side of the village. This was one of the better sites I have stayed at and is also  next to the main beach.

Most days I walked across the beach, through the village, and down to the fishing harbour and spent time chatting to and taking photographs of the fishermen and their boats. They were all professional fishermen and from what I saw and heard they live pretty tough lives as there are many days they can not go out or times when the fish are just not biting.

The one crew I met up with were camping at the caravan park and  were all from Gaansbaai on the south east coast near Hermanus. They ranged in age from early 20′s to the skipper and owner of their boat, Rosalie, who was 63. They had come through to Yzerfontein as they had heard that the snoek were running big time and the fishing in Gansbaai was poor.

They went out at about 6 every morning and would would come back at about 2 in the afternoon.

At the end of the day.

One thing I can tell you is that these guys known how to cook snoek on an open fire as they kindly gave me a piece to sample. It was delicious.

Have a close look at the person nearest to the camera.

Yep that is a woman and one of very few that go out on the boats and catch snoek.

Nine months ago Alida had been working as a pharmacist in the Gauteng area but was now working full time as a professional fisherman and from what I was told  was darn good and held her own against any of the men on the boat which was named after the TV series.

Alida with one that didn't get away.

As I said in my previous post Yzerfontein it is definitely one of my favourite spots and I am going to go back there to complete my journey down the west coast of South Africa and am hoping that I might be lucky and get some good photographs of whales to share with you.

Yzerfontein walk about

In June, after I had refurbished my little Sprite caravan and before setting off on the first part of my west coast journey, I spent a week at Yzerfontein to make sure that I could cope on my own and that I would enjoy doing it.

Yzerfontein is about 80 km’s from Cape Town and  over the years I had probably driven past at least 10 times and not turned off the high way to have a look round. I had been there once before with my parents as a child and did not remember it at all.

This is a shot of Cape Town’s Table Mountain taken from Yzerfontein.

This  seaside village is renowned for its unspoilt beaches, including the pristine 16-Mile Beach which stretches north to Postberg Nature reserve near Langebaan and  the main beach has been awarded  blue flag status.

Laid out and developed in 1936 by a gentleman by the name of Abraham Katz, Yzerfontein is a popular week-end and holiday resort and has quite a few retired folk living there permanently. There is plenty to do apart from the swimming, surfing, boating and just lazing in the sun.

In spring the bay is the  destination for not only dolphins but also Southern Right and Humpbacked whales as they arrive to calve and one can watch from various elevated vantage points when they come close inshore. There are some spectacular displays of wild flowers, bird watching, hiking and Yzerfontein is renowned for its sea food. Snoek, crayfish and perlemoen are available, in season, at some of the restaurants in the village.

What  struck me as I wondered round the village was the amount of really posh looking houses that have been built as holiday homes and some that, in spite of the economy, were still being built.

If this is the holiday home I would love to see the residential home.

Cute hey!

All in all I loved Yzerfontein and if I was asked to pick a place where I would like to stay on the west coast this would be it. I loved Kleinzee and Hondeklipbaai but for me they are just too far from Cape Town whereas from here you can be in central Cape Town within an hour.

I am going to do another post about Yzerfontein as I met some  interesting people involved in the snoek fishing industry and got some really good  photos.

Lamberts Bay walk about.

Lamberts Bay is situated 260km’s north of Cape Town on the West Coast. It is well known for its sea food and  is in the heart of crayfish country.  It attracts holiday makers, week-enders and day trippers almost all year round. Crayfish season is from November to April and every year in April the masses descend on Lamberts Bay for the  Crayfish Festival. There are plenty of things to do and see in Lamberts Bay. Apart from  white beaches and blue waters there is  a 9 hole golf course, 4×4 and hiking trails, fishing, surfing, bird watching and, in season, there are good whale watching opportunities.

I decided the best way to get a feel of the place was to go walk about and talk to some of the locals.

There is no doubt that central to Lamberts Bay is the harbour area. The fish factories, Bird Island, diamond divers boats and the well known Dolphin and Seal Island boat trips launch from here.

Bumped into Jakes taking his dogs for a walk – the black dog on the left is called “Thandi” and Jakes jokingly refers to her as a Khoisan Hunting Hound, and the other,  a very beautiful Golden Retriever, is called Rupert. Jakes knows George from McDougalls Bay and we had a long chat about the future of diamond divers on the West Coast.  Jakes seemed a bit more positive about it all compared to others I have spoken to.

Jakes and his wife Adele have just recently taken over RT Gifts so I popped in to have a look around.

One thing for sure is that if you wanted to stay overnight or longer you would have no problem finding accommodation. Apart from the Lamberts Bay Hotel and many self service flats available it looked as if every second house had accommodation available.

Well maintained braai (barbecue) area at the beach front.

Thought of my daughter when I saw this as I know it's her dream to have a place right on the sea front.

The one negative thing  about Lamberts Bay are the number of street sellers and beggars that are allowed to hassle and badger one in quite an aggressive way. I find it very off putting and am sure that something could be done about it.

There is plenty more to see and do in Lamberts Bay so I am going to do a second post showing  the attractions such as Bird Island, Seal Island, a boat trip to see the dolphins and the museum which had some really interesting displays.

Brandkaros

The next morning (Sunday 5th) Koos and Lieta decide to stay on an extra day as they had been on the move for a month and needed a bit of catch up time. I was pleased as they are such a nice couple and have some really interesting stories from all their travels over the years.

They wanted to see the river and I wanted to try a spot of fishing so off we trekked. I found what I thought was a nice spot to thrown in a line and they went off to explore further downstream.

Fishing in the Orange River

Not even half a bite (foto: Koos Prince)

The day was very pleasant, hot with no wind and by the time I got back to camp later and at last starting to relax into it all when the next shock arrived in the form of a troop of monkeys. It was chaos for about the next hour and a half as they emptied every bin they could find and jumped all over the caravans. Not very nice at all. They did not give me such a hard time but went for Koos and Lieta and nothing we did would scare them off.

I have discovered that Brandkaros is no longer a working citrus farm, has not been for the past couple of years, and is basically just going to rack and ruin. There is still a huge amount of fruit on the trees but they have not been trimmed or harvested in ages. What a shame! From what I have heard it used to be an oasis in a desert landscape.

Brandkaros Farm

Brandkaros Farm

The farm is just falling apart. Even the irrigation piping is all broken and useless.

From what I can gather there is a reason why this farm and many other businesses in the area are either finished or on there way out. There has been a massive land redistribution in the area to the Richtersveld people and also a lot of money poured in by the government and it is all going to waste. People who have been in the area since the early 18oo’s have been kicked off their land without much, if any, recompense. I am not going to say much more as I am no expert in the field but by the look of it things can only get worse.

Had a great evening with Koos and Lieta. They are or were both teachers and have some wonderful stories to tell while sitting round drinking coffee and Rooibos. Also found out that Koos was at one stage Lietas school principal before they got married. Stunning couple!

About 10pm, after a glorious day we said our good nights and off I went to lala land. After all the walking and day fishing in the sun I slept like the dead.