West Coast – Remote Magnificence

Campground behind the dunes. Quiet. Nice coffee shop for breakfast.

Blue mussels and lobster heads all over the beaches. We couldn't believe the number of shells. Locals advised us that this is normal and not some result of a storm. There was also a seafood processing plant and commercial fishing launch ramp. I suspect this is where the lobster heads came from.
A few surfers, a tourist or two and some local kids were all that was on the beach. The campground was basic in general however the braai setups were elaborate. The sunset was amazing.
We had a seafood platter in the point restaurant and were given a completely off lobster tail. After our complaint to the manager about 15 minutes later a new tail came out. No appology however.

The plan was to drive along next to the beach for the majority of the west coast and there is a road that goes next to the railway line for the stretch from Elands Baai. We had read that this railway reserve can be used by the public with a donation to the guard. Not the case for us. There was a maned gate just outside Elands Baai however we were informed that a permit was required which could be obtained at the office somewhere but we weren't going there to find out. We ended up going down some of the reserve by mistake a bit further on and found the road corrugated and hard work so keen to get off as soon as possible.
We later found the correct road through Ruitersvlei and traversed the deep sand to camp the night in isolation next to the beach. There are many free camps all down the beach in the area.

This National Park is remote with very few visitors in May. We were told it is very busy in the flower season and during national holidays.
After a fairly long drive we camped on our own at Koringkorrel Baai. On the way we saw many birds, some Duiker and Meerkats. We may also have seen a Mongoose fleetingly. The weather was beautiful however the sea was rough. We regretted we didn't bring any firewood.
The next day we set off for the caves, seal colony and bird hides.

1. In the caves Archaeologist had found the oldest remains of sheep in South Africa
2. The Seal Colony was massive. The water was black with the bodies of seals playing in the rough waves.
3. The bird hide was out of order and there was only a few Flamingos a long way away on the other side of the lake. We did see some rock Dassies, however.

On our way out way came across a Landcruiser that had passed us in a hurry a few hours before. It was bogged in the sand up to the frame and the owner was bailing with a tin can he found beside the road. I lent him a shovel to clear the chassis and instructed him to lower his tyre pressures - they were at 35 psi.  Luckily, we had a winch and with the lowered pressure a gentle tug had him free. He could then go and collect his wife who had gone looking for us while we had some lunch a couple of hours before. They were lucky we were around. I am pretty sure they would have spent the night there at least if we weren't. We had our tyres way down and had a rear diff lock as backup. We crawled along and never looked like stopping.

We took a scenic drive up the monument hill and saw Gemsbok or Oryx in herds.

This mining and fishing village was our next stop. Seen better days but still functioning. Relics of the fishing industry and wharves.

We ended up at Keinzee as it was the only location we could access one of the shipwrecks along this coast.  Many ships have been lost along this stormy coast however this area now seems all tied up with diamond mining and locked gates.

The Crazy Crayfish was an interesting stop for lunch with an old car towing a boat and whale bones out front. The wreck was accessible with a permit available from the Tourist Information Centre in town which also houses a museum.

These places we just had a drive around and filled up with food and fuel. The road between them was bitumen and only mining mullock heaps broke the view to the horizon.