Langebaan is a restful little seaside town on the South African West Coast north of Cape Town. It is located at the edge of the Langebaan lagoon. The lagoon is part of a protected area, the West Coast National Park, maintaining the town’s rustic atmosphere, although new residential developments on the outskirts of Langebaan are affecting the town's untouched appeal a little.
For the past 400 years Langebaan has been used as replenishment stop because of the sheltered position of the lagoon, then a whaling station, until it morphed into the tourism driven getaway village it is now.
Langebaan appears to have been around a lot longer than that, as far back as 500 000 years ago, early Homo sapiens were probably present in the area.
In 1995 a pair of 117,000-year-old footprints was discovered in West Coast National Park, just outside Langebaan. The footprints are the oldest ever found from anatomically modern humans. Known as “Eve’s footprints” they have been moved to the South African Museum temporarily, but there are more fossils to view at the West Coast Fossil Park Largely unspoiled, the National Park is a nature lover’s paradise with over 300 species of birds to watch out for as well as ostriches.
In spring Langebaan’s surroundings are treated to a complete make over as the town and the nearby West Coast National Park are carpeted by range of stunning flowers. Being a lagoon side village makes Langebaan perfect for the water sport lover, it has some of the best catamaran sailing, windsurfing, kitesurfing and sea kayaking in the Cape. The Langebaan house boats at Preekstoel have long been a hidden secret of us locals.
The annual Langebaan Downwind Dash(l) is one of the only events in the world where windsurfers and kitesurfers can compete with each other in the same race. Eating out here is a treat, as expected the seafood is fresh and comes in generous portions. There are two great unique seafood restaurants in Langebaan, The Strandloper and the Boesmanland Farm Kitchen they both offer “all you can eat” buffets where the seafood delicacies are cooked and eaten al fresco, right on the beach.
Molo Says: Any visit to Langebaan requires you have go at the buffet in at least one of these unique beach restaurants. If you're in need of something even more laid back than Langebaan then plan a day trip or a weekend stay in the nearby quaint fishing village of Paternoster .
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