Explore the West Coast PART: 2

It’s Sunday and I was booked to have lunch at the legendary Muisbosskerm open-air restaurant. The venue is plus-minus six kilometres from Lambert’s Bay on the R364, that links the beautiful seaside town with Clanwilliam. I set up camp at the peaceful campsite alongside the Jakkalsrivier.

It was still early and I had some time to spare before lunch. I saw a banner earlier, advertising an art exhibition at a place called Jackal Creek and decided to mosey along for a look. On the way to the art exhibition, I saw a small municipal green signboard on the left marked Vanputtensvlei and at first didn’t pay much attention to it. It seemed to lead down to what looked like a gravel pit, with a marshy reed bed in the background.

After my quick visit to the art exhibition at Jackal Creek, I headed back to Muisbosskerm, where I enjoyed a tasty gargantuan seafood feast. I started talking to Anton Boonzaaier, who was busy stirring one of the seafood pots steaming over the rooikrans coals. His wife, Hanlie runs the restaurant’s booking office and Anton helps when needed. Anton asked if I have ever been to a place called Vanputtensvlei and stated that they have a wonderful campsite that I needed to go check out. I was so glad he told me about this seeing as it is one of the best-kept secrets of the West Coast.

Vanputtensvlei

If like me, you thought Lambert’s Bay was the original seafront village that grew around the rich seafood harvest found along this southern part of the Atlantic coastline, you would be wrong. The village of Lambert’s Bay only came into existence in 1930. The small trading post of Vanputtensvlei was the progenitor to the village of Lambert’s Bay that we know today. (But I’m getting ahead of my story.) As advised by Anton, I took the turn-off following the small gravel road until it curved to the