Saldanha Bay, one of the best natural harbours in the world, certainly the deepest and safest in South Africa, acquired its name at second hand.  In May 1503 Antonio de Saldanha, commodore of the Portuguese navy, anchored in what is now Table Bay, which was named Aguada de Saldanha (the watering place of Saldanha).  Nearly 100 years later the Dutch gave Table Bay its current name and transferred the name Saldanha 110km to the northwest.

Despite the swashbuckling past of the bay the origins of the town of Saldanha were modest and unspectacular.  Until early this century the population comprised mostly fishermen struggling to make a living by making bokkems (dried herrings) and selling these to farmers as rations for their labourers.  The abundance of fish in the bay, with its prodigious supply of plankton, gradually began to attract the attention fo fish canners and by the start of the Second World War a few canning plants were in operation. 

The main obstacle to the development of the town, the lack of fresh water, was eliminated during the war when the growing strategic importance of the bay prompted the authorities to build a pipeline to supply water from the Berg River.  To relieve the pressure on Table Bay and Simonstown, a new naval base was built at Saldanha in 1944.  Today SAS Saldanha with its training gymnasium is one of the more important facilities of the South African Navy.  In 1958 the Military Academy of the SANDF was moved to Saldanha Bay, where students now read for the B Mil degree.

Meanwhile the availability of fresh water has boosted the economic development of the town and bay.  Today fishing is big business.  There are several plants canning fish, manufacturing fish-meal or processing lobster, mullet and tunny for export.  In the 1970s Saldanha acquired new strategic significance when it was developed into an iron ore export harbour.

* Aquaculture or sea farming, is practised on a large scale in the bay.  The enterprise was started in 1962 by one of the civil engineers involved in the construction of the harbour who decided to lease the large tidal basin for a sea farm.  Constantly fed by the cold Benguela current, the basin turned out to be ideal for farming with mussels, clams and oysters, which feed by filtering plankton from the water.  Four more sea farms have since started

production.  Main products are the Mediterranean blue mussel, foreign oysters (Japan, Chile, Canada and the US) and indigenous clams.  The floats of the sea farms in the bay are a fascinating sight.

* On the farm Kliprug (stone ridge) there is the grave of Simeon Cummings, third engineer of the Alabama, the Confederate raider which put into Saldanha Bay in July 1863 during the American Civil War.  The crew were lavishly entertained by the locals and many hunting trips were arranged.  It was on one of these trips that Cummings accidentally shot himself in the heart.  To this day his grave is tended by the American government.

* There is also the doctor's cave in which, according to tradition, a doctor treated smallpox sufferers.  When a smallpox epidemic struck the Cape in 1871 patients were shipped to a quarantine camp at Saldanha.

* There are various hiking trails through the 1800ha military area.  In spring this area is ablaze with colour.

* Saldanha stages an annual marine harvest festival in September.

(Including Jacobsbaai)

The name Saldanha Bay originates from the Portuguese admiral Antonio de Saldanha, who first applied the name to the present day Table Bay when he anchoring his fleet below Table Mountain in 1503. It was nearly a 100 years later in 1601 that the Dutch transferred the name to it’s present location. Saldanha Bay is the largest natural harbour on the South Africa coastline and played a very important role as convoy assembly area during the Second World War because of it’s strategic location and the safe anchorage it offers. Today Saldanha with it’s sheltered bays is well known as export harbour for iron ore and plays an important part in the huge Sishen Saldanha iron ore project at which Saldanha Steel, a state of the art steel mill, takes centre stage. It is also home to one of South Africa’s largest commercial fishing fleets, the South African Military Academy and SAS Saldanha, a naval training base.

Jacobsbaai

Is a beautiful isolated bay a few kilometers north of Saldanha with a sea-frontage of about 2 km. This beautiful stretch of coastline is characterized by rocky peninsulas and sandy bays with cosy beaches and an abundance of seafood – crayfish, fish, mussels and abelone. The area is renowned for it’s beautiful wild flowers during spring.

GENERAL INFORMATION

How to get there

Cape Town 140 km

Altitude: Highest point 120 m above sea level.

Average Temperatures

Day 20°c – Night 11°c.

Average Annual Rainfall

255 mm

Rivers

(near vicinity) Berg River

Dams

(near vicinity) Misverstand Dam, near Malmesbury

Banks – Saldanha

Absa, Fnb, Standard

Vredenburg

Absa, Fnb, Standard, Boland PKS

HISTORICAL VIEW

Oorlogsvlei

Lovely homestead built by Hendrick Schreuder and home to the Tourism Information Office. It was named after an incident between the Dutch and the Khoikhoi concerning water in a nearby dam.

NATURE

SAS Saldanha Nature Reserve

ATTRACTIONS

Aquaculture (Sea Farming)

Saldanha Bay is suitable for the cultivation of mussels, clams and oysters. The first farm was established in 1982 to cultivate the blue Mediterranean mussel, the South African clam and the Japanese oyster.

ACTIVITIES

Hiking

SAS Saldanha Hiking Trail

Fauna and flora trails ranging from 4 km to 14,5 km.

Oranjevlei Hiking Trail

A 12 km trail rich in bird and plant life.

Windsurfing

Saldanha Bay offers excellent conditions for windsurfing

Annual Sea Harvest ‘Dash’

A 17 km giant slalom race

West Coast Half Marathon - August

Oval Track Stock Cars

Barons Rubber duck Challenge

Boat Trips

Benguale Charters

Tours

Sishen – Saldanha Iron-Ore Export Harbour, guided tours conducted. Bookings essential

Sport

Bowls, diving, golf, motorbikes, rugby, soccer, squash, tennis and windsurfing

Accommodation in and around Western Cape