The Noordhoek Beach is one of the best beaches in the lovely nation of South Africa. This beach is ranked as the longest on the Atlantic Seaboard on the Cape Peninsula. The beach has also made its mark in films and the popular Ryan’s Daughter movie was actually shot on the shores of the Noordhoek.
The exact location of Noordhoek is in the famous Simons Town in the Western Cape region of South Africa. The geographical coordinates of the place are 34° 6′ 0″ South, 18° 22′ 0″ East.
The natives of the areas in and around the beach refer the place as “Long Beach.” The logic behind this reasoning goes to the fact; the beach is the longest in the region and boasts of a 5-mile long coastline. Outside the boundaries of coastline, a striking feature of the town is the freely roaming cows, pigs, hens, horses, geese, ducks and rabbits in the regions open spaces like gardens and other public spots.
However, even with its long white sandy beaches and the best possible strategic location, it is rather surprising to see a deserted look on this beach. The beach is not visited by crowds in large numbers. The main reason why the beach wears such a deserted look is on account of its dangerous waters, and as a result you cannot swim here. Nevertheless, the beach is visited by a large number of surfers on account of the lovely facilities and the high waves of course.
A major characteristic of the winter season on the beach are the strong winds, which in turn drive the dangerous waves across this wonderful beach and the result is for all of us to witness via the lagoons created behind the dunes.
Therefore, on account of the strong waves, I request everyone to please refrain from entering the waters of the Noordhoek as it can be quite a dangerous activity.
The beach is a one of a kind and has many visitors as well, however, the number of visitors throughout the year cannot be termed as huge and going by the huge coastline the beaches are housed on, the number of visitors is definitely small.
Some of the popular visitors here are the kite-fliers, power walkers and you may also find some romantic couples here on account of the empty beaches here.
You need to visit the northern end of the beach, which is famous amongst the visitors on account of “The Hook.” This small sandy bay is believed to have been created via the huge boulders, which were rounded by the water and wind.
The waters are also favored by the surfers on account of them arriving at regular intervals and the waves also reach high levels. All these features of waters are the ideal characteristics for every surfer.
The southern tip of the beach houses a 100-year old steamship wreck, which is only desperately waiting to be explored. However, the most popular activities amongst all the visitors is can you believe it! Horse back riding.
If you are looking for horse rides on the Noordhoek Beach, you need to visit the Imhoff’s Farm, which is situated just outside Kommetjie. Alternatively, there are a series of good stables in the town of Noordhoek. However, we recommend you take the options available with Imhoff’s Farm.
The Farm offers wonderful 2-hour rides along the beautiful shores of the Noordhoek and many visitors have described these horse rides as the best possible way to explore the long shores of the place. These 2-hour rides can also be combined with a short bush ride.
The region has a rich bird life and when the bush ride reaches the wetlands, you can experience beautiful views of the geese, cranes, water birds, besides the rarely seen flamingos. That’s not all; you can also witness the ever so beautiful dolphins playing with the waves of the beautifully and dangerous blue waters. You may also witness the sight of the whales as well.
The horse rides via Imhoff’s Farm need to be booked just 24 hours in advance and you need not worry, there is no much rush at this place and you can pretty much be assured of the horse rides. There are various time zones for the horse rides and the 9 a.m. ride can be also combined with a good champagne breakfast. The other prominent time zones available are 12 in the noon, whereas the other times keep fluctuating as per the season.
Noordhoek also offers a range of other facilities to its visitors and prominent among the activities are the cycling and trout fishing. As seen earlier, there are a number of birds found in the vicinity; hence bird lovers also flock to the wonderful shores just to catch a glimpse of the wonderful birds.
However, the best of the activities is definitely walking as the beach is full of clean and virgin white sands, which are the perfect ideals for any person who just loves to walk.
The shopping at Noordhoek is also great and famed the world over for the options its houses in the arts and crafts areas. You can find almost about everything in this part of the world and there is also a large shopping mall, known as Sun Valley Mall in close vicinity to the beach, which sells almost about everything.
A talking point of this town is the Noordhoek Farm Village, which is all about the spirit of Noordhoek. If you have kids, this is the best place for them to be in as the huge playground will only be to their liking. This place is a lovely leisure destination as well, where you can shop, admire the various forms of art and also wine and dine your way and the best part about the Noordhoek Farm village is there are no entrance fees, which is the best way to spend your evenings off course.
Listed below are some of the questions which may be on your mind.
How do I reach the Noordhoek beach?
The Noordhoek beach is easily accessible via private cars or by the various tour busses. For foreign nationals, the Cape Town International Airport is the nearest to the beach. You need to align at this airport and let me assure you, this airport is definitely one of the best in the entire nation of South Africa.
Once you have set foot on South African soil it is recommended you hire the services of a hired cab to drop you to the Noordhoek beach. You may also use the public busses or the tour busses, which are found in large numbers near the Cape Town airport.
The entire road journey should not exceed 2 hours and you can expect some of the best views of the entire region.
Where do I stay during my Noordhoek holiday?
The area in and around the Noordhoek beach area and town boasts of some of the best accommodation facilities to its visitors in a variety of different budgets to suit your tastes and preferences. Some of the popular landmarks of the area are Marina Break, Horizons Holiday Cottages, Wild Rose Country Lodge, Sacred Mountain Lodge, Logie Lodge, De Noordhoek Hotel, Chapman Peak Beach Hotel, Sun Dollar Lodge, Afton Grove Country Retreat, Sitara Country Lodge, Tintswalo Atlantic, Seacliffe Lodge, Sunset Beach Guest House and Noordhoek Cottages.
When is the best time of the year to visit Noordhoek?
The entire Noordhoek beach area is an ideal place to visit, whether it the winter season or the summer season doesn’t make much of a difference here. As such the Beach can be visited throughout the year. However, in recent years, a growing trend shows the number of visitors is the highest during the months of November through March, which also coincides with the summer season of the region.
After all, the best way to beat the heat of the summer is to have a stroll on the white sandy shores of the Noordhoek.
The winter season of the region runs from June through August and the place tends to get very cold in this part of the world and the occasional dusting of snow is also seen at the higher altitudes of the town. Nevertheless, Noordhoek is not a bad option when it comes to visiting the place during winters as you will find enough amenities to enjoy yourself.
In conclusion, Noordhoek is a wonderful holiday destination, which has definitely not made its mark as a tourist hotspot on the world map. Nevertheless, let me assure you the region has some wonderful facilities for its visitors and I can only guarantee you will love the place and return back at the earliest. Besides, there is so much more to explore like the steamship wreck on the beach shore, you could be the first to document the findings of this wreck.
Secondly, the place is the ideal spot for that romantic holiday as there are not much crowds seen here unlike the other popular destinations worldwide, which are only full of tourists. Hence, it’s more of a private holiday for the love birds as a view of an isolated beach is not something new in this part of the world.
Lastly, the entire Noordhoek area is considered safe as there have been no reports of any untoward incidents reported here. This is only a pat on the back to the respective authorities, who have played their part in protecting the lives and belongings of the visitors. The natives of the land also need to be appreciated for their friendly nature. The place has not reported any crimes, be it the dirty murders or robberies and parents can trust the safety of their little ones, be it during the day or the night. However, it is still recommended you avoid traveling alone late in the night.
Therefore you can be assured of a safe holiday on the shores of the Noordhoek. Besides, the entire cost is also affordable as there is no much demand here. However, this trend can change in no time as once the news spreads about the beauty of Noordhoek, it will not take much time for the destination to become a hotspot on the world tourism may.
Hence, now is the best time to visit the place before it becomes out of reach to most of us, be it the cost of traveling or the unavailability of tickets.
So, what are you waiting for, just go ahead and plan that all important holiday trip to the Noordhoek beach.
