West Coast National Park

The area that is now the West Coast National Park has been occupied by humans for hundreds of thousands of years. On the shores of the Langebaan Lagoon, the skull cap of an archaic human (Homo sapiens) has recently been excavated. When it was dated, scientists estimated the skull cap to be approximately 400 000 years old. Trace fossils in the form of fossilized footprints were also found in 1995 at Kraalbaai, next to Langebaan Lagoon. These footprints are estimated to be around 120 000 years old. The footprints' size and shape indicate that it was a woman walking down a steep sand dune. There are only four sets of ancient human footprints worldwide.

In recorded history, the first people to occupy this area were the Khoikhoi. They were nomadic livestock farmers and traded fat-tailed sheep, goats, and cattle with the early Dutch that settled in Cape Town. As early as 17 October 1652, Jan Van Riebeeck dispatched a skipper and bookkeeper to trade with the Cochoqua at Langebaan. By 1654, Van Riebeeck sent large vessels to Langebaan to collect salted penguins and bird eggs to feed enslaved people. The Dutch used Langebaan Lagoon as a haven for ships in danger and to repair ships. Between 1652 and 1795, 61 ships were repaired, and 140 ships escaped dangerous seas into the lagoon.

When the flowers bloom, late winter to early spring is the best time to see wildlife. This time of year is the breeding season for many animal species. Animals typically shy and skittish, like caracal, bat-eared foxes, and Cape foxes, are frequently seen. West Coast National Park is home to a healthy population of eland, the continent's second-largest antelope specie, and gigantic bulls can be found. Other species of antelope include gemsbok, bontebok, grysbok, steenbok, springbok and common duiker. The once-endangered Cape mountain zebra makes for brilliant sightings and unique photographs.

In the Atlantic Ocean, Cape fur seals are the most abundant mammal, Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins are seen occasionally, and humpback and southern right whales are spotted in season. Reptiles are plentiful in the reserve. One will likely come across puff adders, mole snakes, and legless skinks. Angulate and parrot-beaked tortoises can also be found. Birding around the lagoon is exceptional. Curlew sandpipers come to the park in the summer from the Siberian Arctic. Swift terns, Cape gannets, crowned cormorants, and even the endangered African black oystercatcher are all common. African penguins may also be seen.

The West Coast National Park contains 24,025 hectares of strandveld vegetation. Recently the park has acquired more land to add to the diversity of the foliage. The extra 6382 hectares are made up of Hopefield Sand Plain Fynbos. Both areas have a high rate of endemic flora. The plain sand fynbos, however, has been given higher conservation value than the strandveld vegetation, as very little of the sand plain fynbos is being formally conserved, and it is being threatened more and more by alien plant invasion. Most of the vegetation in the West Coast National Park grows on granite or limestone rock, and the plants tend to be very colorful during spring, attracting many visitors.

The strandveld vegetation in the park is on the Langebaan peninsula and around the Langebaan lagoon on the eastern side, where it grows in the deep chalky sands of the Langebaan formation. The plain sand fynbos occurs inland of the strandveld vegetation on deep acidic light-gray to pale-red sands of the Springfontyn formation. On the fringes of the Langebaan lagoon, there are extensive marshes. The park Park vegetation can be divided into 36 associations and 482 plant species. Twenty-one of these species are red data book species, and 14 red data book species occur in the newly acquired sections of land.