Travel to Gansbaai

interesting lodges in surrounding nature reserves

Gansbaai is located in the Whale Coast area of the Western Cape.

The stretch of coastline that runs from Hermanus eastwards past the broad sweep of Walker Bay, around the Gansbaai Peninsula and on as far as Pearly Beach is one of the more attractive parts of the Whale Coast.

Not only does this area include some lovely untouched beaches, but the scenic hinterland of gentle hills and granite mountains is covered with some very diverse and rare fynbos ecosystems.

Gansbaai and Kleinbaai

Set 120 km east of Cape Town, the village of Gansbaai is an honest little place which is centred on a commercial fishing port. However the place is of little general interest to most travellers.

Across the Peninsula to the south, Kleinbaai is a more relaxed place, with holiday homes ranged across the hillsides. The place is centred on a much smaller port, which lays claim to being the world’s centre for shark cage diving (which we now largely support from a conservation perspective), as well as offering some of the best boat-based whale-watching in the nearby Dyer Island Marine Reserve.

The best accommodation in this area is to be found in the hills above the coast, notably the upmarket Grootbos Garden Lodge and Grootbos Forest Lodge, plus the quirky Farm 215.

For slightly lower cost options it is usually best to look to the cliff top suburb of De Kelders immediately to the north of Gansbaai, an area well known for shore-based whale watching.

Stanford and Walker Bay

Between Hermanus and Gansbaai the main road diverts inland to detour around a large freshwater lagoon and the pleasant village of Stanford.

This is a relatively undeveloped stretch of coast, with a nature reserve running virtually the whole length of the broad Walker Bay, with its beautiful dune-backed beaches. Inland areas are a mix of natural fynbos vegetation and pleasant farmland, with a backdrop of impressive granite mountains.

Stanford itself is a pleasantly low key little town with quaint tea shops and art studios, a very pleasant contrast to the more heavily developed areas nearby.

The best accommodation option here is the very pleasant Mosaic Lagoon Lodge, set on the pretty dirt road that runs from the back end of the village towards the lagoon and remote beaches.

We quite often include nights in this area in trips, especially in the more upmarket lodges of Grootbos and Stanford.

The usual issue is whether to stay in this area or the De Hoop Nature Reserve further east.

combines well with Cape Town