One of the great shore drives of the world is to head north from Cape Town along the West Coast, with the Atlantic Ocean on your left, and the golden wheat fields of the interior on your right. There are any number of unspoilt beaches, fisherman’s coves, lagoons and plush developments on the way, with more than a smattering of flowers and ancient footprints forever embedded in rock.
Yzerfontein
About 80 km north of Cape Town is Yzerfontein, the beginning of the Watersports 
Route. Not only are the beaches and seafood dishes sublime, but the kitesurfing and windsurfing, the kayaking and canoeing, the surfing and the rubber duck racing will keep the sportsman’s interest for weeks.
The little village with its small craft harbour is full of good restaurants and accommodation of all kinds. The 2 flower seasons (late winter and spring) turn the area into something really spectacular and hiking is a visual adventure.
Langebaan
5 million years ago, t he Berg River flowed through what is now Langebaan. It was a massive, powerful river, and its flow washed the bones of ancient creatures down with it. They collected in phosphate deposits and slowly, cell by cell, became stone.
At what is now the West Coast Fossil Park, researchers have found the fossils of an ancient African bear, short-necked giraffes (sivatheres), sabre-toothed cats, 3-toed horses, 2 extinct species of elephant, a giant ostrich and the megatooth shark - plus vast amounts of tiny bones belonging to frogs, chameleons, moles and fish.
The first little hominids, ancient ancestors of humans, were already present, hunting and being hunted.
Langebaan tidal lagoon is a major highlight: biologically it’s the ‘richest stretch of water in South Africa’, visited annually by 60 000 birds, with around 200 species to delight bird-lovers at any time.
Footprints in Stone
Fast-forward to a more modern time, only 117 000 years ago. A young woman walking across a rain-wet dune leaves her small footprints in the sand. She is small, just over 1.2 metres high, and seems to have been burdened by something, perhaps a small animal she was bringing back to her tribe. Not long after she walked by, sand covered up her footprints again, and slowly, ever so slowly, it became compressed by more layers above, and turned to stone, protecting the unseen.
Many thousands of years later, erosion caused the layers to split and break, and the little woman’s footprints were exposed. Geologist Dave Roberts discovered them in 1995. Experts confirmed they belonged to an anatomically modern human, a female they called Eve.
To safeguard them, the large slab of rock with their imprints was removed to the Iziko Museum in Cape Town. One day they will be displayed near where they were found, at Kraal Bay in the West Coast National Park.
Paternoster
Still one of the most picturesque fisherman’s villages in Africa, Paternoster has preserved much of its old coastal culture – although city-dwellers have fallen under its spell and moved in, in large numbers. The whitewashed cottages are still there, along with the rather eccentric and enjoyable hotel and the Cape Columbine lighthouse in the local nature reserve.
Velddrift
Further east along the coast at the mouth of the Berg River lies Velddrift, where they still dry the fish in the sun for snacks called bokkoms. The nearby Rocher Pan is a favourite with birders on the lookout for sandpipers, plovers, heron, redshank and flamingo.
Lambert’s Bay
North is Lambert’s Bay, the home of the West Coast gannet. Gannets like to nest in dense (and smelly) settlements on certain islands, protected from mainland predators.
Bird Island (originally called Penguin Island) is connected to Lambert’s Bay by a causeway and is one of their favourite nesting places, with 11 000 breeding pairs (7% of the global gannet population).
Stop by around March and join in the Lambert’s Bay Crayfish Festival for fresh crayfish hot off the barbeque and entertainment for the whole family.
Lobster Town
Elands Bay is the home of the West Coast lobster. It is also the site of Verloren Vlei, the home of Le Vaillant’s Warbler. The French explorer of the late 1700s came here and could not contain his enthusiasm for this haven of ‘web-footed and shore birds’.
Elands Bay also promises one of the country’s most perfect left-hand pointbreaks – a non-stop, half a kilometer wave-ride all the way to the point.
Doring Bay
In flower season, Doring Bay is a spectacular sight. But all year round, the Doring Bay lighthouse is the most striking feature of this little village. There are whales to be seen, blooms to behold and legends to uncover. And on the return trip down the West Coast, a whole lot more to discover and enjoy.
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