Staying Home Sucks, home
Cape Town, South Africa (Unsplash xcxlpH8gv4s)
Scarborough Western Cape, the nearest town, 8 km away. Photo: Thomas PETRACCO tompec, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Olifants bos

Surf spot · South Africa

Is it worth the trip?

28Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Wed 4: 4 ft swell at 8 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 0 out of 100

Swell
7 ft9 ssoft
Energy
604kJ
Wind
SSE 15 kn
Temp
20°C

Tue 3 · 50 out of 100

Swell
5 ft9 ssoft
Energy
443kJ
Wind
SSE 9 kn
Temp
22°C

Wed 4 · 66 out of 100

Swell
4 ft8 ssoft
Energy
231kJ
Wind
W 4 kn
Temp
26°C

Thu 5 · 9 out of 100

Swell
4 ft11 smushy
Energy
427kJ
Wind
NW 20 kn
Temp
21°C

Fri 6 · 0 out of 100

Swell
8 ft8 smushy
Energy
702kJ
Wind
WNW 14 kn
Temp
20°C

Sat 7 · 16 out of 100

Swell
4 ft7 smushy
Energy
156kJ
Wind
SSE 9 kn
Temp
18°C

Sun 8 · 6 out of 100

Swell
5 ft8 ssoft
Energy
350kJ
Wind
SE 24 kn
Temp
19°C

Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 10, too big
  2. Mon 20, too big
  3. Tue 350, fair
  4. Wed 466, good
  5. Thu 59, poor
  6. Fri 60, too big
  7. Sat 716, poor
  8. Sun 86, poor
  9. Mon 936, poor
  10. Tue 1017, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces SWtakes swell from the SW
  • Offshore: NEwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–8 ftof swell
  • Water 17 °C3/2 wetsuit

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Olifants bos, each day
DayScore for intermediatesSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov0, too big8 ft9 smushy10 ft at break (est.)1,117kJwind from the south, 11 knots21°C
Mon 2Nov0, too big7 ft9 ssoft8 ft at break (est.)604kJwind from the south-south-east, 15 knots20°C
Tue 3Nov50, fair5 ft9 ssoft7 ft at break (est.)443kJwind from the south-south-east, 9 knots22°C
Wed 4Nov66, good4 ft8 ssoft6 ft at break (est.)231kJwind from the west, 4 knots26°C
Thu 5Nov9, poor4 ft11 smushy7 ft at break (est.)427kJwind from the north-west, 20 knots21°C
Fri 6Nov0, too big8 ft8 smushy9 ft at break (est.)702kJwind from the west-north-west, 14 knots20°C
Sat 7Nov16, poor4 ft7 smushy5 ft at break (est.)156kJwind from the south-south-east, 9 knots18°C
Sun 8Nov6, poor5 ft8 ssoft6 ft at break (est.)350kJwind from the south-east, 24 knots19°C
Mon 9Nov36, poor4 ft6 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)104kJwind from the south-south-west, 6 knots25°C
Tue 10Nov17, too small3 ft12 smushy5 ft at break (est.)219kJwind from the west-north-west, 13 knots22°C

Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More

Tide

  • Sun 1 NovLow 01:16 −0.4 mHigh 07:45 +0.4 mLow 14:12 −0.3 mHigh 20:24 +0.3 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 02:48 −0.3 mHigh 09:15 +0.4 mLow 15:59 −0.4 mHigh 22:04 +0.3 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 04:26 −0.3 mHigh 10:42 +0.5 mLow 17:23 −0.5 mHigh 23:28 +0.4 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Map

the spot and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for intermediates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Olifants bos

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.

The spot faces SW (247°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (67°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 450 m out (1 in 44). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 15°C in August, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 19°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Scarborough Western Cape, 8.4 km away (about 15 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 1 surf spot and 3 dive sites.

Water about 17°C: 3/2 wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,300–US$2,540 each

about US$1,300–US$2,540 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, board and wetsuit.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to CPT, estimated from distance and season, changing at ATL, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$858–US$1,780
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$67–US$114
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$161–US$275
Food7 days eating outabout US$147–US$268
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$67–US$107
Totalabout US$1,300–US$2,540

For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: 3 towns

Closest

Scarborough Western Cape

15 min by car · 19 places to stay

about US$60/nightcountry average

See 19 places to stay in Scarborough Western Cape · Booking.com

About Scarborough Western Cape its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$60 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 26h 40m

About 26h 40m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → CPT, changing at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), then 55 min by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.