1. Langstrand
Walvisbaai, as it was known in the Afrikaans community, was a part of South Africa from 1911 until 1993, serving as an important military base for the SADF.
The tidal pools at Langstrand, halfway between Walvis Bay and the resort town of Swakopmund, provide a safe location for swimming. There is an active local swimming community, which hosts the annual Pupkewitz Jetty Mile ocean swimming race in Swakopmund.
Walvis Bay has a municipal pool, while Swakopmund had an Olympic-sized indoor pool that has been demolished.
Picnic places, a tidal pool, and a jetty were designed by Johan van Papendorp in 1987 and built in the 1980s by Wim van der Plas of Premier Construction from Swakopmund, with funds from the provincial government in Cape Town, as a project to boost tourism in the Wasvisbaai area.
Water temperature in Swakopmund 26th March 2026 was 16.6°C. Based on our historical data over a period of ten years, the warmest water on this day in the Atlantic Ocean near Swakopmund was recorded in 2007 at 18.5°C, and the coldest was recorded in 2023 at 13.9°C. Sea water temperature in Swakopmund is expected to drop to 16.5°C in the next 10 days. The average water temperature in Swakopmund is 17.5°C, the minimum temperature is 13.5°C, and the maximum is 21.3°C.
Throughout the year, the water temperature in Swakopmund does not rise above 20°C and therefore is not suitable for comfortable swimming. But on some days of January, February, March, December, the water temperature warms up to 20°C and above. The average water temperature in Swakopmund in winter reaches 17.6°C, in spring 16.2°C, in summer the average temperature rises to 13.7°C, and in autumn it is 13.6°C.
2. Ganzekraal
The Ganzekraal Vakansieoord is a municipal facility 50 km north of Cape Town. The original Ganzekraal farm dates back to the early 1700s.
3. Silverstroom
A few kilometres south of Ganzekraal is another municipal resort with a tidal pool.
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4. Bath of Bethesda
The tidal pool was built on Robben Island after it became a leper colony in 1845, as swimming was considered to be therapeutic for leprosy victims. It was specifically used by the leper colony that occupied the island between 1846 and 1931.
The remains of this pool can still be seen today, and the image of the Bethesda pool is from a painting by Paul Stopforth.
The pool is named after a famous pool in Jerusalem where Jesus performed the famous miracle of healing of the paralytic
