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THE SA-WESTCOAST HUB- South Africa's west coast revealed- towns, history, tours, routes, local attractions eateries, accommodation, and much more - Become a member - SEE CLICKABLE AREA MAP
Interesting articles
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Cape Town’s Foodie Suburb ?
By NADINE RUBIN
New York Times
Published: March 30, 2008
The whitewashed cottages of Paternoster on South Africa’s west coast are home to a growing number of restaurants and guesthouses.
TWO years ago, Arnold Hoon, a chef from Johannesburg, was driving along South Africa’s West Coast in search of lunch. On a whim, he and his wife, Annelise Bosch, followed an old wooden sign to Paternoster, a traditional fishing village about 90 minutes north of Cape Town.
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 Colour Therapy
Angus Begg journeys along the N7, the highway linking South Africa and Namibia, in search of one of the world’s most dramatic natural phenomena http://www.cnntraveller.com/
Look,’ says our guide, botanical expert Karin Frehse, barely concealing her enthusiasm. ‘Dimorphotheca!’
It is as if we have just spotted an exotic species of big cat in a game reserve, but the subject of our guide’s enthusiasm is nothing more than a simple daisy. Not just one, though – field after field of them, of all different species, and, adds Frehse, they are endemic to this part of the world.
My education had begun as we travelled towards the Postberg Nature Reserve in South Africa’s Western Cape. Rolling hills flushed with winter rains spread before us, the whole image capped by a herd of eland on a dune-ridge, the Atlantic Ocean behind them.
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Two oceans & biodiversity
If you're of a botanical bent, you'll never want to leave South Africa. We have the third-highest level of biodiversity in the world, and ours is the only country to contain an entire floral kingdom.
The Cape Peninsula National Park has more plant species within its 22 000 hectares than the whole British Isles or New Zealand. Some 18 000 species of vascular plant (plants with vessels for bearing sap) occur within South Africa's boundaries, of which 80% occur nowhere else.
Our incredible biodiversity is due to our unique physical features. Most of the country is situated on a high-lying plateau, between two very different oceans.
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Oyster farming, a bright future
under the West Coast sun
Ferdi Endemann - Specialist Extention Officer: Aquaculture
Department of Agriculture: Western Cape
The West Coast of South Africa is known for the relatively cold ocean Benguela current. The Benguela has it’s origins in Antarctica and transports cold nutrient rich water from the Southern Ocean. It is this nutrient rich water source that supports a specific and highly productive ecosystem based on algal blooms and upwelling events. Certain times of the year, notably on hot wind still summer days, these algal blooms can reach high density levels that leads to another West Coast phenomenon, Red Tides or Hazardous Algal Blooms. This leads to lobsters walking out of the oxygen starved sea at places like Lamberts Bay and Elands Bay. |
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Engineering News
Forest Exploration to develop new gas field off SA’s West Coast
By: Esmarie Swanepoel
18th March 2009
Gas exploration company Forest Exploration International and its project partners plan to spend between $3-billion and $4-billion over the next 20 years to develop the Ibhubesi gas field, off South Africa’s West Coast.
The initial drilling programme into the gas field has been “highly successful”, producing a gas well that tested better than any other well drilled off the South African coast. However, the second phase of the $100-million drilling programme was less successful.
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Hondeklipbaai – South Africa’s Forgotten West Coast Village
Rolf Kanwischer
May 19th, 2009
Anyone that has ever been to South Africa will know that its West Coast is very different to its East Coast. Here the cold Benguela Current has left its mark on the few coastal villages that dot this part of the world. Hondeklipbaai is no different. Situated 112 kilometers from the nearest larger town of springbok, this charming little village offers the tourist a unique experience.
The gravel road from Springbok to Hondeklipbaai is in itself quite scenic as it winds its way through the Namaqua National Park over the sparsely vegetated hills towards the coast. You may just be lucky to see a Klipspringer or Tortoise along the way.
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Lamberts Bay, Cape West Coast, South Africa
A Culinary Adventure, Awaits You, if You Know Where to Look
© Johan Liebenberg
Feb 19, 2009
There are no five-star hotels on the way, only a toll gate at the corner store, a dirt road and then Lamberts Bay. It doesn't look promising. Until you eat |
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