Melkbosstrand

Melkbosstrand beach. Photo courtesy Gwendolen Tee

Melkbosstrand’s 7km-long stretch of white sand beckons visitors to slip off their sandals and enjoy a stress-relieving stroll.

Melkbosstrand (“milkwood beach” in Afrikaans) is the first village one encounters on a drive north from Cape Town along the Cape’s West Coast. Bathed by the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean, “Melkbos”, as it is better known by locals, is the ideal location for long, lazy walks along the beach or surfing at Corner, Tubewave and Derdesteen, spectacular sunsets, safe swimming, kitesurfing, crayfishing, boating, windsurfing and beautiful views of Robben Island and Table Mountain. 

Milkwood (Euphorbiaceae) trees grow on the dunes, where the sticky white milk they exude from their leaves has earned them their common name.

Melkbos is renowned for its seafood, which is served at a number of local restaurants. The area also boasts a number of golf courses, Ratanga Junction theme park, Grand West Casino, Canal Walk shopping centre and the seasonal wild flowers of the West Coast.

Durbanville winelands and the Boland mountains are in close proximity, and nature lovers have a choice of many rambles through the nearby Koeberg Nature Reserve, where scenery includes cliffs, sand dunes and beaches.

Melkbos is also famous for being one of the landing points for the South Africa-Far East and South Atlantic-West Africa submarine cable systems.

Thanks to easy access through the surf zone, the National Sea Rescue Institute has built premises on the beachfront here to store rescue boats and equipment.

In 1924 the Cape Lands Development Company pioneered development in Melkbosstrand, then known as Melkbosch Strand, with the building of a post office, café and a few houses, including a Cape Dutch homestead called Die Damhuis, which still stands today. More than 600 plots were eventually laid out, from which the town grew over the years.

Melkbosstrand is a favourite holiday destination for Swartland farmers who gather annually on January 2 to participate in a traditional beach festival.

  • Phone: +27 21 521 1080

Walking in Cape Town

Many visitors want to explore nature on higher ground as soon as they arrive in Cape Town and with Lion’s Head and Table Mountain beckoning, many do get to experience the local flora and fauna on foot. However, the entire peninsula can be enjoyed by avid walkers. From Blouberg Beach, with its picture perfect views from its sandy shores, to the more adventurous guided Hoerikwaggo Trails along the spine of Table Mountain, visitors have an expanse of ground to cover.

St James

Just a little further on from Cape Town’s well-known Muizenberg beach (with its ubiquitous Victorian bathing boxes) is St James.

African Wildlife

Although Cape Town and the Western Cape are probably not the best places to experience a safari (Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal provinces are better known for that), it is possible to have an encounter with South Africa’s big game not far from the Mother City.

Llandudno and Sandy Bay

Only 18km from the Cape Town city centre, an arc of fine white sand gives away the secluded location of one of Cape Town’s most beautiful beaches, Llandudno.

Macassar Dunes Project

The Macassar Dunes Project is located on the Cape Town coast adjacent to Macassar and Khayelitsha and is bounded by the Eerste River, Baden Powell Drive and False Bay.

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