Angling
Spots & Routes
In order to prevent indiscriminate driving over the gravel plans, lichens and Damara Tern breeding grounds a number of routes were identified at the end of 2011 that was approved by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism as part of the infrastructure in the Dorob National Park.
These routes are all signposted and graded and will be upgraded to salt roads in time. The turnoff roads are as follows from Swakopmund to the Ugab Gate:
Angling Spots
- Mile 8
- Mile 11
- Mile 14
- Mile 17
- Wlotzkabakken
- Mile 26
- Mile 30
- Mile 32
- Bennie se Rooi Lorrie
- Zeila
- Black Rock
- Jakkalsputz
- Omaruru River Mouth
- Trappies
- Popeye
- Sarah se Gat
- Tolla se Gat
- Mile 68
- Fishermen’s Inn Turn
- Mile 72
- Sichombe’s Turn
- Mile 87
- Maketo’s Turn
- Canopy
- Doep se Gat
- Die Tol
- Predikans Gat
- Horing Bay
- Baklei Gat
- Rondebos
- Mile 100
- Mile 106
- Mile 108
- Richtersveld
- St Nowhere (101)
- Blare
- Rondeklip
- Winston
- Fence
About the names
Many questions are asked about the origin of the names of angling spots along the coast. Although most of the spots have interesting names, not many of them have a story behind it.
More often than not a spot was called after an angler who had a particular good catch on a specific day. In other cases a good spot was named after an object that served as a beacon.
Of these, Sarah se Gat is probably the most famous. Sarah De Jager, a born South African who lived with her husband in Windhoek since 1955, regularly came to Henties Bay for holidays where she qualified herself as a master angler.
She was known for her ability to locate good angling holes in the sea by just looking at the water. On a good day in 1958 she spotted such a hole where they caught a huge amount of fish and marked the place with a whalebone against the dune.
Sarah se Gat became so famous that well-known songwriter, Jan de Wet, composed a song called Sarah de Jaer”, which was recorded by Carike Keuzenkamp in 1981.
Winston refers to the place where the Winston shipwreck is lying on the beach.
Rondeklip is marked by a single round boulder on the beach that is only visible at low tide.
Kastele refers to a pile of round boulders.
Blare can be recognized by the presence of seaweed in the water just south of the actual spot.
Ou Wrak refers to a place where an old steel shipwreck is still visible in the ocean. Nothing is known of this wreck.
Baklei Gat As if our coastline is not long enough anglers tend to crowd a spot where there are plenty of fish, which invariably lead to entangled lines and anglers losing their fish and tempers.
Needless to say that this is the perfect arena for a good fight. Bakleigat was named when a group of “Valies”, obviously a bit overeager and greedy, knocked each other about with gaffs and fists over entangled lines.
Predikants Gat Ds. Killian, a minister from Gobabis, told that a “tannie” was very cross with him because he cast across her line. When he told her that he was a “predikant” she said: “Predikant se gat – hier *#&+ ek jou vanmore!”
Kruiswater (not on the map) is situated 13.4 km from the Uis Road just north of Sarah se Gat and is called this because the water forms a cross by flowing in opposite directions.
