About a hundred miles north-northwest of Cape Town , lies the centre of what is locally known as the "West Coast" . Although the actual coastline extends much further up north , this area is the economic hub of the west coast . The towns further north mostly revolve around fishing and tourism , with some diamond mining taking place up on the north end . Vredenburg is the heart of the West Coast , harbouring most of the commercial activity .

Most of the surrounding towns on the west coast are somewhat smaller than Vredenburg , containing fewer businesses . St helena bay , for instance ( where Vasco da Gama erected a monument when he passed four centuries ago ) , revolves around the fishing industry , containing a few factories .

Saldanha Bay harbour is deep . Deep enough for serious freighters . Deep enough to handle ships taking our export iron . And of course , also a big player in the fishing industry . And yet the rest of the town comes across blissfully quiet , apart from what you see when you look out to sea .

Paternoster ( latin for "Our Father") , is so peaceful , the calm is almost tangible . This fisherman's village has now become a very sought-after place to be . Fortunately , development has been kept in check , to preserve the character of the town . This eventually led to fishing folks being paid large amounts of money for their simple houses , because no more land was made available .

These little fish ( herring ) are heavily salted , then hung out to dry in the shade . Then the exess and skin is cut away . The end result is a tasty , but very salty , snack . If you have a drink ready , fine . But I would not recommend it as a food supply when you go to 4x4 in the desert........

Langebaan , besides having a small military unit of the special forces , is simply a town where right-minded people live . And where successful people come for their holidays . Most people living here either work , or have businesses in Vredenburg , but for some reason the whole town just seems to have a "positive vibe"  - the positive side of the west coast.

Every year , residents and tourists are greeted by sights like these . Towards the end of winter , miles and miles of these flowers pop up , the colours changing as you go along . This phenomenon carries on far north , and further inland as well . People come from all over the country , and the rest of the world , to see it .