Witsand Beach

Description

Witsand Beach is a lovely Blue Flag beach located in the small coastal town of Witsand, at the mouth of the Breede River, around 3 hours’ drive from Cape Town in the Western Cape. This beach has been a well-kept secret and holidaymakers have enjoyed this beautiful undeveloped area of the coastline for years.

As its name implies, the beach offers pristine white sand, caused by a body of underground water responsible for leaching the red iron oxide coating from the sand. The beach is extremely wide and as it stretches for 4km, there is plenty of space for beach walks and exploring the rock pools filled with fascinating marine life. Be warned that the wind can pick up in the late morning and make the beach quite unpleasant, especially in the early summer. Under the right conditions, Witsand’s dunes utter spooky rumbles when disturbed, a phenomenon known by locals as the famous ‘Brulsand’ or Roaring Sands.

As the bay is an important nursery for the Southern Right Whale, Witsand is a famous whale watching spot outside of the Blue Flag season. The nearby river estuary, set where the Breede River flows into the Indian Ocean, offers safe swimming, windsurfing, rock and surf angling, deep sea fishing, snorkelling, spear fishing, and more.

The previously limited infrastructure of the beach has been upgraded to meet Blue Flag standards. There is lots of parking, benches to sit on, a beachfront restaurant, and lifeguards on duty during December and January.