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?

34Poor 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

Tue 3 · 50 out of 100

Swell
5 ft9 ssoft
Energy
434kJ
Wind
SE 7 kn
Temp
23°C

Wed 4 · 61 out of 100

Swell
4 ft8 ssoft
Energy
241kJ
Wind
W 5 kn
Temp
27°C

Thu 5 · 10 out of 100

Swell
4 ft8 smushy
Energy
208kJ
Wind
NW 18 kn
Temp
21°C

Fri 6 · 0 out of 100

Swell
9 ft8 smushy
Energy
875kJ
Wind
NW 12 kn
Temp
20°C

Sat 7 · 15 out of 100

Swell
4 ft7 smushy
Energy
131kJ
Wind
SW 7 kn
Temp
17°C

Sun 8 · 0 out of 100

Swell
7 ft9 ssoft
Energy
882kJ
Wind
ESE 20 kn
Temp
21°C

Mon 9 · 41 out of 100

Swell
4 ft8 smushy
Energy
165kJ
Wind
W 9 kn
Temp
23°C

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

Forecast: next 9 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 27, poor
  2. Tue 350, fair
  3. Wed 461, good
  4. Thu 510, poor
  5. Fri 60, too big
  6. Sat 715, poor
  7. Sun 80, too big
  8. Mon 941, poor
  9. Tue 1039, poor

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.

Olifants bos does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Olifants bos, each day
DayScorefor Inter­mediateSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov7, poor6 ft8 ssoft7 ft at break (est.)363kJwind from the south-south-east, 17 knots20°C
Tue 3Nov50, fair5 ft9 ssoft7 ft at break (est.)434kJwind from the south-east, 7 knots23°C
Wed 4Nov61, good4 ft8 ssoft6 ft at break (est.)241kJwind from the west, 5 knots27°C
Thu 5Nov10, poor4 ft8 smushy6 ft at break (est.)208kJwind from the north-west, 18 knots21°C
Fri 6Nov0, too big9 ft8 smushy10 ft at break (est.)875kJwind from the north-west, 12 knots20°C
Sat 7Nov15, poor4 ft7 smushy5 ft at break (est.)131kJwind from the south-west, 7 knots17°C
Sun 8Nov0, too big7 ft9 ssoft9 ft at break (est.)882kJwind from the east-south-east, 20 knots21°C
Mon 9Nov41, poor4 ft8 smushy4 ft at break (est.)165kJwind from the west, 9 knots23°C
Tue 10Nov39, poor4 ft12 smushy6 ft at break (est.)333kJwind from the west, 10 knots21°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

  • 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
  • Wed 4 NovLow 05:40 −0.4 mHigh 11:49 +0.5 mLow 18:23 −0.6 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 beginners: 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

about 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.