Questions and answers
Safari near Cape Town: frequently asked questions
Planning a safari from Cape Town? West Coast Private Game Reserve is 1 hour away, outside Yzerfontein on the West Coast. Here is how to combine a game drive with the beach, the sea, !Khwa ttu and the flower season, and how the reserve compares with other safaris near Cape Town.
Where can I go on safari within an hour of Cape Town?
West Coast Private Game Reserve is one of the closest safari destinations to Cape Town, 1 hour’s drive north on the R27, depending on your starting point and traffic. Near Yzerfontein on South Africa’s West Coast, it offers guided game drives through coastal dunes, strandveld and fynbos. It is an easy day trip from Cape Town, or a longer stay combining wildlife, beaches and the ocean.
What makes West Coast Private Game Reserve different?
It brings together a combination that is hard to find near Cape Town: free-roaming wildlife, a coastal landscape and the Atlantic Ocean a few minutes away. You can go on a guided game drive, spend time on Yzerfontein’s beaches and discover the region’s San heritage without travelling between distant places. Stay longer and add a sea safari, a beach horse ride or a visit to West Coast National Park.
Are the animals free-roaming?
Yes. The wildlife roams freely across the whole 1700 ha reserve rather than being kept in separate enclosures. The animals share the landscape and follow their own patterns of grazing, browsing and movement, and your guide looks for them in their habitat, so every game drive is different. Free-roaming means sightings of a particular species are never guaranteed.
Are the animals fed, or do they find their own food?
They graze and browse naturally. Supplementary feeding is kept for exceptional circumstances, such as extreme weather, when the animals’ welfare needs it. Game drives follow the animals through the landscape, with time to watch their behaviour and to look at the plants and the wider ecosystem.
Is West Coast Private Game Reserve a Big Five destination?
No. Cape buffalo are the only one of the Big Five that live on the reserve; leopard is a rare and elusive visitor. Its appeal is free-roaming wildlife, small-group game drives in 9-seater open vehicles and a coastal setting 1 hour from Cape Town. Guests see giraffe, Cape buffalo, zebra and eland, and have time for the beach, the ocean and the West Coast’s cultural sights.
How does it compare with Aquila?
They suit different trips. Aquila offers Big Five safaris in an inland Karoo setting, about two hours from Cape Town. West Coast Private Game Reserve is 1 hour away near Yzerfontein, with free-roaming wildlife and small-group game drives in a coastal landscape. Choose it if you want to combine a safari with the beach, San heritage or a trip out to sea.
How does it compare with Sanbona?
Sanbona offers a longer inland wildlife experience in the Little Karoo, about three and a half hours from Cape Town to its main gate, and requires an overnight stay. West Coast Private Game Reserve is a coastal safari 1 hour from Cape Town, with day visits and overnight stays. It suits travellers who want wildlife alongside beaches, the ocean and the rest of the West Coast.
Can I combine a safari and a beach visit in one day?
Yes. The reserve is just outside Yzerfontein, so a game drive and the beach fit easily into one day trip from Cape Town. Take the morning game drive (9 am) and spend the afternoon on the coast, or explore Yzerfontein first and join the afternoon drive (2 pm). Our Safari from Cape Town day trip includes the transfers and time for lunch and a beach walk.
Can I combine a game drive with a beach horse ride?
Yes, subject to availability, riding ability and weather. Beach rides on 16 Mile Beach with West Coast Horse Trails suit riders of any ability and are a separate activity from horseback safaris on the reserve, which are for competent riders. Book both ahead so the times fit. See Horseback Safaris.
Can I visit !Khwa ttu and go on safari on the same day?
Yes. Our Safari & San Heritage day trip does exactly that: a morning game drive on the reserve, then lunch and guided tours at the !Khwa ttu San Heritage Centre, with transfers from Cape Town. It connects the West Coast’s wildlife and landscapes with San history, living culture and knowledge.
Where can I combine a land safari and a sea safari near Cape Town?
In Yzerfontein. Go on a game drive among giraffe, buffalo, zebra and antelope on the reserve, then head out to sea with our partners Cape Coast Expeditions, who run sea safaris from Yzerfontein to Dassen Island, home to African penguins, seals and seabirds. Their office is at the Weskus Padstal, where our game drives start. Boat trips depend on the weather, sea conditions and availability.
Can I combine a safari with whale watching?
Yes. Humpback and southern right whales can be seen on boat trips from Yzerfontein harbour, 15 minutes from the reserve, in season. Our Whales & Safari package, available from November to March, combines 3 nights in the Rooikat Safari Collection’s houses on the reserve with a whale-watching trip and a private game drive. Sightings depend on the whales’ movements and the weather, so allow some flexibility for the boat trip.
How many nights should I stay to experience the West Coast?
At least three nights if you want to combine a safari with a trip out to sea and time to explore. Go on a game drive, spend a day on the water, and leave time for Yzerfontein’s beaches, !Khwa ttu or West Coast National Park. A longer stay also gives you room to move a boat trip if the weather turns.
Can I combine a safari with the West Coast flower season?
Yes. From August to October the reserve’s sand fynbos and strandveld flower, and the flowers of nearby West Coast National Park are a short drive away. The timing and the show vary with each year’s winter rain, sunshine and temperature. See the flowers on the reserve.
Questions about the reserve itself (where it is, its size, the animals, staying over and how it relates to West Coast National Park) are answered on the reserve page.
Get in touch to book or ask any question.
Call or WhatsApp 066 525 1994, email info@westcoastsafaris.co.za, or visit the booking office at the Weskus Padstal.