6 best beach campsites in SA
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Loading... - Albert O'Connor
- 16 May 2022
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From bucket-and-spade seaside spots to rugged and remote coastal coves, we’ve got your camping weekends covered.
1. Honne-Kamp
HONDEKLIPBAAI, NORTHERN CAPE
Hondeklipbaai (Dog-Stone Bay) was named after a rocky outcrop that apparently resembles a dog – but probably only after a solid session of Klippies and Coke. Be that as it may, this West Coast hamlet brims with characters and attractions, and has, over time, achieved legendary status as one of the Northern Cape’s premier seaside holiday destinations. A rather topsy-turvy history has seen the town go through a number of booms and subsequent collapses – copper, crayfish and diamonds – before settling on tourism.
At first glance, Hondeklipbaai appears a bit haphazard, the beauty of its 14-kilometre beach not immediately tangible. The West Coast has a rough edge to it, so don’t come here expecting anything fancy. But there is a cappuccino machine at The Shack (the barista may be out on a crayfish mission)! Although the campsite is set back a street from the beach, it will take you less than a minute to get there. The water’s icy and tempestuous tides often dump seaweed on the sand, but the dunes and rock pools below the lighthouse are great for exploring.
Get the necessary permit, don your (very thick!) wetsuit and dive into the icy Atlantic for a crayfish or two (in season, of course). Or, if surfing’s your thing, a reef in the bay often throws up a solid right-hand break. To the south, Spitfire Rock spews up dramatic spray when waves thunder against the rocky shores, and it’s a great sundowner spot. – Jacques Marais
Do It Honne-Kamp has six sites, each with electricity, water, a picnic table, and braai facilities. The shared ablutions are clean and neat, and there’s an on-site swimming pool and playground. Sam’s Restaurant is a stumble away, as are a few small shops and a bottle store. From R400 for a four-person stand. 083 321 1600, honnepondokkies.co.za
2. Kwass se Baai
NAMAQUA MAQUA NATIONAL PARK, NORTHERN CAPE
Frost-fisted waves of Atlantic rollers pound a sun-drenched shoreline of strandveld that for most of the year looks a bit bedraggled, but bursts into colour during spring flower season. Hundreds of Cape fur seals weave through the rich kelp forests and come ashore to warm up on the rocks.
This virgin shore in the Namaqua National Park runs for around 50 kilometres and the four individual sites at Kwass se Baai have the best setting – on an elevated ridge overlooking a crescent beach, with great views of the sunset over the ocean. Simple stone walls provide protection from the prevailing southerly wind and a long-drop toilet is the only amenity. For old and young alike there is blissfully little to do here other than explore the veld and coastline (only on the designated tracks), skinny-dip in the icy ocean and warm up afterwards in the blazing sun or around the fire with a cup of steaming tea. – Scott Ramsay
Do It There are nine campsites on this stretch of protected coast spread out across 40 kilometres. From south to north they are: Groen Rivier (12 sites), Delwerskamp (seven), Kwass se Baai (four), Varswater (four), Bamboeskamp (four), Skuinsklip (two), Koringkorrel Baai (five), Skuinsbaai Noord (two), and Boulderbaai (six). Bring all your camping equipment, drinking water, food, and other supplies.
Tip Good for vygies in the Cape flower season. A 4×4 with diff lock and high ground clearance is a must, as there are stretches of thick sand. There’s a seal colony of several thousand animals between Skuinsbaai and Boulderbaai (17 kilometres north of Kwass se Baai). 027 672 1948, sanparks.org
3. Strandfontein Holiday Resort
WEST COAST
There’s only one problem with the Namaqua West Coast region – too much wine and way too little time to drink the stuff. Add to this the fact that Namaqua residents do not seem to have an off-switch, and you have either paradise or purgatory.
Strandfontein is a case in point. It’s a languid dorp for most of the year, but come summer it’s packed with sunseekers looking for a good time. Strandfontein Holiday Resort is the hub of this bakkie-and-beach party, with two sections of campsite grass unfolding right onto the main beach. Fortunately, out of season there’s usually not a soul in sight – cue me and my surfboard. And, yes, there’s wine. Just down the drag in Doringbaai, you’ll discover Fryer’s Cove Winery in a unique setting right on the old harbour pier.
If you can pry yourself away from the seafood and chenin blanc, explore the dramatic coastline between here and Strandfontein. For more remote camping, there are plenty of spots along the West Coast where you can ‘wild-camp’ right on the ocean’s edge, with only the swish of Atlantic rollers for company, and regular whale sightings and spring flowers from late July through September. Winters can get rather chilly, with fog and the occasional winter storm – but nothing a camp fire and bottle of local red can’t solve. – Jacques Marais
Do It The Strandfontein Holiday Resort (read caravan park) is laid out in four sections, but I would recommend either A Block or Perdeskoen Block. All sites have electricity and water: A Block’s 29 sea-front stands, sharing communal ablutions, cost R325 per stand. The 25 A Block sites against the back wall have private ablutions at R335 per stand. Each stand is limited to one vehicle and a maximum of six people. 027201 3437/3401, visitnwc.com
