Exploring the West Coast - 240km

Photo © Struik Publications

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VELDDRIF

Situated about 6 km upstream from the mouth of the Berg River, Velddrif has been an important fishing centre for over a century. The town is especially known for its bokkoms, a typical West Coast delicacy. Harders (mullet) caught in nets in the Berg River estuary are salted and then dried in bunches, an activity that can be seen at the drying sites upstream from the town.

The lower Berg River is an important wetland for waterbirds, which constitute just over half of the 250 bird species recorded to date. At times, over 20 000 birds are attracted to the estuary and its floodplains.

ST HELENA BAY

...was named after the mother of Roman emperor Constantine the Great by the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama, who landed here on 7 November 1497. A monument was erected just east of Stompneus Bay in 1969 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Da Gama’s birth, while the Vasco da Gama Nautical Museum at Shelley Point depicts his voyage around the Cape of Good Hope in search of a sea route to India. St Helena Bay is the centre of the country’s fishing industry and is also noted for its catches of rock lobster and snoek.

PATERNOSTER

...a typical West Coast seaside village with small whitewashed fisherman’s cottages, is known for its crayfish. The Latin name means ‘Our Father’, and it is generally assumed that the village was named after the prayers said by shipwrecked Catholic sailors. The earlier name, St Martin’s Paternoster, was used on maps until 1693.

CAPE COLUMBINE NATURE RESERVE

This scenic reserve, with its rocky bays and granite boulders, covers 263 ha of sandveld vegetation and is especially attractive in spring. Dominating the reserve is the Cape Columbine Lighthouse, which has been in operation since 1936. Built on an outcrop known as Castle Rock, the lighthouse features an unusual square tower instead of the more conventional tapered round tower. The picturesque Tieties Bay, immortalised by the Afrikaans writer Pieter Pieterse, is a popular summer holiday destination.

VREDENBURG

...is the centre of a prosperous wheat and wool farming area. It was laid out in 1883 near the site of a freshwater spring that gave rise to constant quarrels between two neighbouring farmers. In 1875 a church was built, and, as the church often had to settle disputes, it was decided to rename the village Vredenburg (‘town of peace’).

In 1975 the municipalities of Saldanha and Vredenburg were amalgamated, and since then St Helena Bay, Paternoster, Jacobsbaai and Stompneus Bay have been incorporated into the West Coast Peninsula area, at one time South Africa’s largest municipality.

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Page: 1 SALDANHA
...has a long, interesting maritime history dating back to 1601 when Dutch sailor Joris van Spilenberg sailed past the bay. Mistaking it for Aguada de Saldanha (‘the watering place of Saldanha’, after the Portuguese admiral António de Saldanha) – the earl ...

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