Langebaan · West Coast
The Shark Bay
Boutique Hotel & Spa
Fifteen rooms above the Langebaan Lagoon, on the edge of the West Coast National Park.
Fifteen rooms above the Langebaan Lagoon, on the edge of the West Coast National Park.
I was born on this coast, at Langebaan, so bringing guests here feels like bringing them home.
There is a photograph of me as a small boy on the rock beside the lagoon where Eve's Footprints were later found. The lagoon is the same turquoise it was then, and in spring the hills still turn to gold with wildflowers. The Shark Bay lets you wake up looking straight across it.
John Sparks
The Shark Bay stands above the Langebaan Lagoon, on the edge of the West Coast National Park, a short walk from a white sandy beach. It is a small hotel: fifteen rooms, with a restaurant, a bar, a spa and a wine cellar, and three villas alongside.
Out on the water, seals glide through the shallows and kite-surfers cross the bay. Overhead, tens of thousands of migratory birds wheel above the lagoon, and in fynbos season the nature reserve is covered in purple, orange, white and blue.
This is seafood country: bowls of mussels, calamari, prawns from the grill, and fish from the boats in the bay. The restaurant looks straight out over the water, and the wine cellar holds the bottle to go with it.
Sundowners on the balcony are the other ritual here, as the sun drops behind the hills across the lagoon.
The rooms are calm and modern, in sea blues and soft greys. The best of them look straight across the water.
The finest rooms, with a king bed, a freestanding bath, an open bathroom and a balcony over the lagoon.
A private balcony and corner windows looking out across the water.
A king bed, a sofa, and floor-to-ceiling glass towards the lagoon.
Cosy rooms on the garden side, with a king bed and a kitchenette.
Three free-standing villas, each with three bedrooms, a kitchen, a fireplace and a braai, for families and friends.
A king or twin bed, tea and coffee, a mini-bar and a television.
Swim, paddle, or simply watch the seals gliding through the shallows.
In spring the West Coast National Park turns gold, white and purple. Nature sets the dates, but September is usually the time.
Tens of thousands of migratory birds on the lagoon: curlews, greenshanks, turnstones and sandpipers.
The lagoon shore where the 117,000-year-old footprints were found, beside the rock where I was photographed as a small boy.
Treatments at the spa, and a long pool looking straight out to sea.
Kite-surfing on the bay, and the town's small shops and seafood a short drive away.
Check-in from 15:00. Check-out by 11:00.
The West Coast can be breezy, which is why the kite-surfers love it. Pack a windproof layer.
Usually August to September, depending on the winter rains.
Binoculars for the birds, a swimming costume for the lagoon, and a good book.