The West Coast National Park lies north of

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

in the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. The park is found inside of the Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve, part of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Man and the Biosphere Programme Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is an intergovernmental scientific program, launched in 1971 by UNESCO, that aims to establish a scientific basis for the improvement of relationships between people and their environments. MAB's work engag ...

. It is bordered by the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

on the west and the R27 coastal road, and runs from the town of

Yzerfontein Yzerfontein, or Ysterfontein, is a small harbour town with about 1200 inhabitants on the west coast of South Africa about 90 km north of Cape Town. The name in Afrikaans means "Iron Fountain".The town started out when the farm 'Yzerfontein' ...

in the south, up to the

Langebaan Lagoon Langebaan is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa on the eastern shore of Langebaan Lagoon. Langebaan is situated 120 km north of Cape Town, just off the R27, about 28 km from Vredenburg and 20 km from Saldanha Bay. ...

. The park is particularly well known for its bird life and for the spring flowers which occur in the months from August to September, especially in the Postberg flower reserve section of the park. The park, with the islands in

Saldanha Bay Saldanha Bay ( af, Saldanhabaai) is a natural harbour on the south-western coast of South Africa. The town that developed on the northern shore of the bay, also called Saldanha, was incorporated with five other towns into the Saldanha Bay Local Mu ...

, has been identified by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

. The park was proclaimed in 1985, and is in size.

History of protection

The Langebaan Lagoon, a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Department of Forestry and neighbouring farms were included in the park. In that same year an additional of land around Postberg was included as a "contractual national park". Expansion has continued since then. Its name was changed to West Coast National Park in 1987. In 2000, the park and Langebaan Lagoon was added to the UNESCO Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve.

Fauna

Wildlife in the park includes large

antelope The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...

such as eland,

red hartebeest The red hartebeest (''Alcelaphus buselaphus caama''), also called the Cape hartebeest or Caama, is a subspecies of the hartebeest found in Southern Africa. More than 130,000 individuals live in the wild. The red hartebeest is closely related to t ...

bontebok The bontebok (''Damaliscus pygargus'') is an antelope found in South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia. ''D. pygargus'' has two subspecies; the nominate subspecies (''D. p. pygargus''), occurring naturally in the Fynbos and Renosterveld areas of ...

kudu The kudus are two species of antelope of the genus '' Tragelaphus'': * Lesser kudu, ''Tragelaphus imberbis'', of eastern Africa * Greater kudu, ''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'', of eastern and southern Africa The two species look similar, th ...

gemsbok The gemsbok or South African oryx (''Oryx gazella'') is a large antelope in the genus ''Oryx''. It is native to the extremely dry, arid regions of Southern Africa; notably, the Kalahari Desert. Some authorities formerly classified the East Afric ...

steenbok The steenbok (''Raphicerus campestris'') is a common small antelope of southern and eastern Africa. It is sometimes known as the steinbuck or steinbok. Description Steenbok resemble small oribi, standing 45–60 cm (16"–24") at the ...

mountain zebra The mountain zebra (''Equus zebra'') is a zebra species in the family Equidae, native to southwestern Africa. There are two subspecies, the Cape mountain zebra (''E. z. zebra'') found in South Africa and Hartmann's mountain zebra (''E. z. hartman ...

duiker A duiker is a small to medium-sized brown antelope native to sub-Saharan Africa, found in heavily wooded areas. The 22 extant species, including three sometimes considered to be subspecies of the other species, form the subfamily Cephalophina ...

and

ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There are ...

es in the Postberg section. Other smaller animals include the

bat-eared fox The bat-eared fox (''Otocyon megalotis'') is a species of fox found on the African savanna. It is the only extant species of the genus ''Otocyon'' and considered a basal canid species. Fossil records indicate this canid first appeared during th ...

caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted e ...

, and Cape gray mongoose. Many

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

migrants winter in the lagoon during the

austral summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, ...

, particularly in September as species arrive from the northern hemisphere, and in March when they gather in large numbers to feed up prior to undertaking the return migration. At these times the birds will be transitioning out of and into their breeding plumage. The birds are pushed towards the hides as the water level rises with the tide and eventually they must fly off until the tide has receded once more.

Red knot The red knot or just knot (''Calidris canutus'') is a medium-sized shorebird which breeds in tundra and the Arctic Cordillera in the far north of Canada, Europe, and Russia. It is a large member of the ''Calidris'' sandpipers, second only to the ...

sanderling The sanderling (''Calidris alba'') is a small wading bird. The name derives from Old English ''sand-yrðling'', "sand-ploughman". The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-colou ...

little stint The little stint (''Calidris minuta'' or ''Erolia minuta''), is a very small wader. It breeds in arctic Europe and Asia, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to Africa and south Asia. It occasionally is a vagrant to North America a ...

Ruff Ruff may refer to: Places *Ruff, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community *Ruff, Washington, United States, an unincorporated community Other uses *Ruff (bird) (''Calidris pugnax'' or ''Philomachus pugnax''), a bird in the wader fami ...

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

, Terek and

Curlew sandpiper The curlew sandpiper (''Calidris ferruginea'') is a small wader that breeds on the tundra of Arctic Siberia. It is strongly migratory, wintering mainly in Africa, but also in south and southeast Asia and in Australia and New Zealand. It is a va ...

ruddy turnstone The ruddy turnstone (''Arenaria interpres'') is a small cosmopolitan wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus ''Arenaria''. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plov ...

, ringed and

grey plover The grey plover or black-bellied plover (''Pluvialis squatarola'') is a large plover breeding in Arctic regions. It is a long-distance migrant, with a nearly worldwide coastal distribution when not breeding. Taxonomy The grey plover was forma ...

greenshank The common greenshank (''Tringa nebularia'') is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae, the typical waders. The genus name ''Tringa'' is the New Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek ''trungas' ...

, Eurasian whimbrel,

Eurasian curlew The Eurasian curlew or common curlew (''Numenius arquata'') is a very large wader in the family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. In Europe, this species is often referred t ...

and

bar-tailed godwit The bar-tailed godwit (''Limosa lapponica'') is a large and strongly migratory wader in the family Scolopacidae, which feeds on bristle-worms and shellfish on coastal mudflats and estuaries. It has distinctive red breeding plumage, long legs, an ...

are the most regular species. Little egret and

South African shelduck The South African shelduck or Cape shelduck (''Tadorna cana'') is a species of shelduck, a group of large goose-like birds which are part of the bird family Anatidae, which also includes the swans, geese and ducks. This is a common species nativ ...

are resident and can often be seen with the waders, while

greater flamingo The greater flamingo (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. It is found in Africa, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and in southern Europe. Taxonomy The greater flamingo was desc ...

es and

great white pelican The great white pelican (''Pelecanus onocrotalus'') also known as the eastern white pelican, rosy pelican or white pelican is a bird in the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and Africa, in swamps and shallow lakes. ...

occur in deeper water. An isolated hide west of the Geelbek educational centre overlooks a salt pan where it is possible to observe the rare

chestnut-banded plover The chestnut-banded plover (''Charadrius pallidus'') is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae. This species has a large range, being distributed across Southern Africa. However, it occupies a rather small area. Identification It grows ab ...

. The lagoon's importance for migratory birds means that it is a site which is subject to the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It i ...

for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. On the land, the

fynbos Fynbos (; meaning fine plants) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean clim ...

surrounding the

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...

is home to

southern black korhaan The southern black korhaan (''Afrotis afra''), also known as the black bustard, is a species of bird in the bustard family, Otididae. This small bustard is found in southwestern South Africa, from Namaqualand, south to Cape Town and east to Mak ...

Cape spurfowl The Cape spurfowl or Cape francolin (''Pternistis capensis'') is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is endemic to southern Africa, where it is the largest francolin. It occurs in the Western Cape province of South Africa, and loca ...

and

grey-winged francolin The grey-winged francolin (''Scleroptila afra'') is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Lesotho and South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. ...

, Cape penduline and

grey tit The grey tit (''Melaniparus afer'') is a species of bird in the Tit (bird), tit family Paridae. It is found in Lesotho and South Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation. Th ...

, southern anteater chat, white-throated and

yellow canary The yellow canary (''Crithagra flaviventris'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is a resident breeder in much of the western and central regions of southern Africa and has been introduced to Ascension and St Helena islands. T ...

Karoo lark ''The Karoo lark should not be confused with the similarly named Karoo long-billed lark.'' The Karoo lark (''Calendulauda albescens'') or red-backed lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is endemic to South Africa where its nat ...

, chestnut-vented warbler,

bokmakierie The bokmakierie (''Telophorus zeylonus'') is a bushshrike. This family of passerine birds is closely related to the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, and was once included in that group. This species is endemic to southern Africa, mainly in ...

and

Cape bunting The Cape bunting (''Emberiza capensis'') is a passerine bird in the bunting (bird), bunting family Emberizidae. Taxonomy In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the Cape bunting in his ''Ornithologie'' bas ...

, which are all easily seen.

African marsh harrier The African marsh harrier (''Circus ranivorus'') is a bird of prey belonging to the harrier genus ''Circus''. It is largely resident in wetland habitats in southern, central and eastern Africa from South Africa north to South Sudan. Description ...

and

black Harrier The black harrier (''Circus maurus'') is a medium-sized African Harrier (bird), harrier whose range extends from South Africa to Botswana and Namibia. It has a wingspan of and a body length of . When perched, this bird appears all black. However, ...

hunt by quartering the ground. The coastal islands at the mouth of the lagoon are important breeding colonies for

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

and

Hartlaub's gull Hartlaub's gull (''Chroicocephalus hartlaubii''), also known as the king gull, it is a small gull. It was formerly sometimes considered to be a subspecies of the silver gull (''C. novaehollandiae''), and, as is the case with many gulls, it has t ...

Cape gannet The Cape gannet (''Morus capensis'') is a large seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae. They are easily identified by their large size, black and white plumage and distinctive yellow crown and hindneck. The pale blue bill is pointed with fine ...

and

African penguin The African penguin (''Spheniscus demersus''), also known as Cape penguin or South African penguin, is a species of penguin confined to southern African waters. Like all extant penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiff ...

, as well as

cormorants Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven gen ...

and

terns Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of e ...

Flora

Although the thousands of migrating birds are an important part of the conservation, the flowers are also a major attraction. The park is composed of various kinds of habitats — as well as the Langebaan

and

— which account for the variety of flora and fauna all around the park. The months of August and September bring about the proliferation of annual Spring flowers in the West Coast National Park. During the spring flower season large fields of blooming White rain daisies ('' Dimorphotheca pluvialis''), Gousblom ('' Arctotis hirsuta''), Magriet ('' Ursinia anthemoides''), Livingstone daisies ('' Dorotheanthus bellidiformis''), and Wild sorrel (''

Oxalis pes-caprae ''Oxalis pes-caprae'' (African wood-sorrel, Bermuda buttercup, Bermuda sorrel, buttercup oxalis, Cape sorrel, English weed, goat's-foot, sourgrass, soursob or soursop; ) is a species of tristylous yellow-flowering plant in the wood sorrel famil ...

'') can be seen along with other species of flowing plants.

Postberg

The area of Postberg, where the carpets of Spring flowers can be seen, is only open during the months of August and September. The most common flower species are Suurvy (''

Carpobrotus edulis ''Carpobrotus edulis'' is a ground-creeping plant with succulent leaves in the genus ''Carpobrotus'', native to South Africa. Its common names include hottentot-fig, sour fig, ice plant or highway ice plant. Description ''Carpobrotus edulis'' ...

''), Elandsvy ('' Carpobrotus acinaciformis''), Gousblom ('' Arctotis hirsuta''), Bokbaai vygie ('' Dorotheanthus bellidiformis''), White rain daisy ('' Dimorphotheca pluvialis''), Sporrie ('' Heliophila coronopifolia''), Magriet ('' Ursinia anthemoides''), and Soetuintjie (''

Moraea fugax ''Moraea'', the Cape tulips, is a genus of plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1758. The group is widespread across Africa, the Mediterranean, and central and southwestern Asia. The genus name is a tribute to the English ...

'').

Photo gallery

File:Dorotheanthus bellidiformis-P9200031.jpg, Livingstone daisy, '' C. bellidiforme'' File:Dorotheanthus bellidiformis0050.jpg, Livingstone daisy, '' C. bellidiforme'' in the park File:Wildflowers-West Coast National Park-PICT0014.jpg, Spring flowers in the park File:Weskus Nasionale Park.jpg, A field of flowers in the park File:Postberg, West Coast National Park 1.jpg, Spring flowers in the Postberg area during August to September File:Postberg, West Coast National Park 2.jpg, Spring flowers in the Postberg area during August to September File:Postberg, West Coast National Park 3.jpg, Spring flowers in the Postberg area during August to September File:Postberg, West Coast National Park 4.jpg, Spring flowers in the Postberg area during August to September File:Postberg, West Coast National Park 5.jpg, Spring flowers in the Postberg area during August to September File:Postberg, West Coast National Park 6.jpg, Spring flowers in the Postberg area during August to September File:Postberg, West Coast National Park 8.jpg, Spring flowers in the Postberg area during August to September File:Postberg West Coast National Park 3-09-15 - 11 of 16.jpg, Spring flowers in the Postberg area as they appear from August to September File:Laangebaan Lagoon, West Coast National Park.jpg, View of the Langebaan Lagoon seen from the west side of the park File:Geelbek Restaurant, West Coast National Park, Western Cape.jpg, Geelbek Restaurant in West Coast National Park West Coast National Park (11356188035).jpg, Abandoned historic shepherds hut located in the park West Coast National Park Flowers 2021 02 - Arctotis hirsuta.jpg, Gousblom flowering alongside smaller yellow flowers (possibly ''

Cotula ''Cotula'' is a genus of flowering plant in the sunflower family. It includes plants known generally as water buttons or buttonweeds. The species within this genus can vary extensively in their habit, leaf division, involucre, receptacle and ...

sericea'')

Notes

References

External links

West Coast National Park
{{authority control National parks of South Africa Protected areas of the Western Cape Important Bird Areas of South Africa Flora of South Africa