Tourists generally tend to find comfort in the fact that other tourists are going to same places as they are. They enjoy the agreeable hum of voices in the 5-star lobby, the roar of tour buses, the proximity of being close to people just like themselves. But not everybody.
Tourists? No, ‘travellers’
Some enjoy the absence of other tourists. These people, who probably hate being called tourist anyway and probably prefer to be called ‘travellers’ would enjoy the Cape West Coast. But not in early spring. Because that’s when the wold-famous Namaqualand and West Coast flowers bloom which draws tourists in their tens of thousands from all across the world.
Langebaan Lagoon – Spectacular in its Beauty
Travelling up the West Coast from Cape Town, the first place you’ll encounter is the Langebaan Lagoon, part of which lies in the West Coast Nature Reserve. It’s simply beautiful, although many of the beach cottages and houses of the coastal town of Langebaan itself, outside the reserve, are spectacularly ugly. Not so Geelbek restaurant (Geelbek is an Afrikaans word for a local fish), which is in the reserve, with no other houses in sight.
Local Cuisine In The Reserve
At Geelbek restaurant, housed in the old manor house, built in the Cape Dutch style over two centuries ago, you can dine on the sprawling terrace or inside, and they serve wines made in the area and offer traditional local dishes. The South African Slow Food movement held a lunch there recently, which also must serve as some sort of recommendation.
Earliest Traces Of Man
If that’s not enough history for you, you’ll be happy to learn that nearby, in the reserve, is Eve’s Footprint, purported to be of the earliest proof of human existence on earth.
There’s plenty of accommodation but hiring a houseboat on the lagoon is popular. No one wants to get too far away from this magnificent stretch of water and best of all when you can remain on it.
If your timing is right, you will see, at low tide, a multitude of birds on the mud banks on the other side, feeding on the various species of fish that find their way into the lagoon. At the far end of the lagoon you’ll find too a quaint little fishing village called Churchaven.
Churchaven On The Lagoon. A Rarity
The houses themselves are quite run down and looking just at them, you’ll be surprised to learn that this is one of the most sought after bits of real estate in the country. But when you look out over the lagoon, you’ll understand why. It is spectacular.
But sitting on a gold mine in terms of real estate means little to the ‘Lagooners’ as they are called. They’ve been living like this for, well, forever and, besides, it’s just possible that the sight across the lagoon, towards dusk, of the pelicans floating across the water, and landing almost tenderly on the other side have beguiled them.
Who in their right mind would trade such a place? they wonder. So, when some big shot comes along with a wad of money and an artificial smile, offering to buy the answer usually is “Nope. We’re not selling.” And they’ll puff on their pipes, and stir their coffee and they’ll go back to gazing out across the lagoon. Because they believe they are, right now, in the best place on earth. And, of course, they are right.
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