About Witsands Beach

Witsands beach is located off the M65 coastal road (Main Road) between Soetwater Beach and Misty Cliffs Beach. It is more often than not seen merely as a glimpse of white sands while travelling to and/or from Cape Point. The beach can be accessed from Main Road via some steep rocky pathways near the provided stopping points on Main Road or from the official parking area accessed via Lighthouse Road (near the Soetwater Resort entrance).

Witsands is a relatively large beach with soft white sands, backed by a small dunes with a rocky outcrop on it’s western edge, known as ‘Die Eiland’ (The Island), where you will see an old crayfish processing plant. There are no ablutions or other facilities nearby, except for the boat slipway that is used mostly by the local fishing community.

The coastline here is relatively flat and exposed to the elements making Witsands beach a popular choice with the Kiteboarding and Windsurfing crowd. Swimming is best enjoyed on very calm days as powerful waves and rip currents make it pretty dangerous most of the time. Dog lovers also enjoy this beach as dogs are permitted to run freely off-leash.

Witsands is also home to a very popular surfing location know as ‘Factory’ (or Crayfish Factory Beach) which is found opposite the ‘crayfish factory’. This surf spot is not suitable for beginners and challenging even for pro surfers who need to be paddle strong to get out to the exposed reef break. Waters here are strewn with kelp and known to have a high presence of Sharks. Waves are unrelenting, very big and very powerful!

Less experienced surfers are better off surfing off the main Witsands beach when the wind is north-westerly, but it’s not the best of swells. Its also recommended to only venture out when there are other surfers about due to unpredictable rip currents.

Like most of Cape Town’s outlying beaches, it is always recommended that you don’t visit these beaches alone. While it is relatively safe, due to it being off the beaten track, it’s not free from incidences of crime, with vehicle break-ins being the most reported of crimes. Use common sense and rather be safe than sorry.

Spectacular sunsets can be seen from Witsands Beach, but it is recommend to view these sunsets from the safety of your vehicle, while parked on the cliff-road above the beach. Usually at this time of day it’s too windy to be on the beach, not to mention risky when there so few people around.

Note: Witsands Beach should not be confused with Witsand (town), which is locate near Port Beaufort, at the mouth of the Breede River on the Garden Route.

Additional Information

The small dune area behind Witsands beach plays an important environmental role in the winter months where it acts as a water catchment area turning into a natural wetlands and aiding in the lifecycle of many plant and animal species.

Unfortunately, these dunes were used as a municipal landfill site in earlier years and during heavy rain storms old landfills breakdown and wash exposed waste onto the beach and into the ocean. A dedicated cleaning team has been assigned to clean-up after such occurrences and the beach is returned to it’s beautiful natural state relatively quickly.

Witsand Beach is a part of the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area and activities should be carried out in accordance to the rules of the National Parks Act. A notice board can be found at the entrance to the boat slipway. In most instances permits are required for fishing/crayfishing and no flora and/or fauna should to be disturbed, picked, damaged and/or removed.

Source: https://www.capetown.gov.za/