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Windmill Beach

Western Cape · South Africa

What have people found?

Black nudibranch, crowned nudibranch and knobbly anemone turn up here more than at our other rock pools. Spiny starfish, gasflame nudibranch and cape sea urchin are the usual finds. ~443 distinct species have been recorded here, across at least 6 years of observations.

What is the best time to visit today?

Download the app to see the 7-day schedule.

See low tide times at Windmill Beach for the next three days
  1. Sun 15 Nov~12:30
  2. Mon 16 Novin the dark~1:00~13:30
  3. Tue 17 Novin the dark~2:00~15:00

Every low tide each day, in local time at the shore.

Plan the week in Intertidal
  • A tide chart for every day, with the best window marked
  • Identify what you find from a photo
  • An alert when a good daylight low is coming

When do people visit?

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Most observations come from April and May.

What should you know before visiting?

Parking is about 450 meters away.
Arrive 45 minutes to an hour before low tide and leave as it turns. The water comes back faster than it left.
Grippy shoes beat sandals. Wet rock and algae are more slippery than they look. Rock pool safety
A rock pool is a fragile place. Look and photograph, take nothing. The rockpooling code

What lives at Windmill Beach?

Species records from iNaturalist

Spiny StarfishMarthasterias africana
Gasflame NudibranchBonisa nakaza
Cape sea urchinParechinus angulosus
False Plum AnemonePseudactinia flagellifera
black nudibranchTambja capensis
Common OctopusOctopus vulgaris
Sea bambooEcklonia maxima
crowned nudibranchPolycera capensis
Knobbly AnemoneBunodosoma capense
Serpent-skinned Brittle StarOphioderma wahlbergii
Red Sea StarCallopatiria granifera
Cape Strawberry AnemoneCorynactis annulata
common featherstarComanthus wahlbergii
Cape DoridHypselodoris capensis
Red Rock CrabGuinusia chabrus
Scan this rock pool on your next visit.

Every organism named, every visit logged to your journal.