Langebaan Holidays by Wesley
McConnachie
Langebaan Holidays - South
Africa
Langebaan is situated 120
km north of Cape Town, just off the R27. It was founded in 1922 and used
as a whaling station until the 1960's. The white Caribbean like beaches
surrounding the crystal clear waters of the Langebaan Lagoon are one of
the main attractions of Langebaan. The town has turned into a mecca for
water sports enthusiasts. Langebaan offers numerous excellent holiday facilities
for the water sport enthusiasts who favour a weekend visit or holiday in
Langebaan to enjoy the host of water sport and fishing opportunities this
vibrant holiday resort town offers. With it's protected lagoon it's the
perfect place for sailing, kayaking and kitesurfing.
Flora
and Fauna
The West Coast National Park
and Langebaan lagoon has much to offer the visitor whether he/she is interested
in archaeology, flora and fauna, bird watching, fossils, history of the
area or just wonderful sites and views. Many visitors describe the display
of wild flowers in the Park as breathtaking. Areas of the Park are blanketed
with flowers of many different shades and hues. The wild flower display
can be seen anytime between July and October and the best time is very
much dependent upon the weather. The time of year when the flowers are
usually at their best is during the months of August and September. It
is interesting to note that the colour patterns change from week to week
as flowers fade and other varieties come into bloom.
Archaeology
Fossil deposits extending
some 20 million years ago into the past have been found in the vicinity
of the Park. The oldest human remains south of the Orange River have been
found on the Farm Elandsfontein. More recently, some 117 000 years ago
a lone female trudged down a steep dune to the lagoon leaving her footprints
in the wet sand. Within a few hours the dune dried out and the wind filled
in the footprints with sand encasing them. Over those thousands of years
more layers of sand were deposited over the footprints. The sandstone cliff
collapsed and exposed those footprints. They were discovered in 1995 and
were named Eves' Footprints - Eve because she may have been the ancestor
of modern woman. The site where the footprints were discovered may be seen
today. Konstabel Kop, one of the highest points in the Park, was very recently
discovered to be an extinct volcano, which blew its top over 500 million
years ago.
History
The area is rich in historical
events from thefirst inhabitants, the Khoikhoi and San to the arrival of
the Europeans. The first European to set foot on land was Vasco da Gama
at St Helena Bay on the West Coast Peninsula in 1497. Antonia de Saldanha,
after whom the bay is named, did not enter those waters at all. Juris van
Spilbergen mistakenly named it in 1601 as Saldanha Bay; he thought that
he had reached Cape Town - originally named Agoada de Saldanha. Although
the Dutch were the first to claim ownership of the area, the French were
frequent visitors. Countries would claim ownership by planting a post in
the ground and formally declaring ownership. One of these 'posts' may be
seen today near Geelbek claiming the land on behalf of the Dutch East India
Company. European settlement was very limited because of the lack of water
for 8 months of the year. However, many stirring events have occurred in
the region over the centuries including two sea battles and a visit by
the Confederate States of America's, Alabama, in 1863, the most feared
warship of its day. Even the 5 islands in the area, which are administered
by the Park have a history of their own, including battles for ownership,
use as smallpox quarantine hospitals, exploits for guano, sealing centres
and other activities.
Langebaan
Accommodation / Cape
West Coast Accommodation / Return
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