Melkbosstrand

Melkbosstrand Melkbos
Beach at Melkbosstrand
Melkbosstrand Show map of Western Cape Melkbosstrand Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 33°44′S 18°26′E / 33.733°S 18.433°E / -33.733; 18.433
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
Municipality	City of Cape Town
Government
• Councillor	Magrieta Jansen van Vuuren[1] (DA)
Area [2]
• Total	35.64 km2 (13.76 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[2]
• Total	11,586
• Density	330/km2 (840/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [2]
• Black African	7.8%
• Coloured	10.0%
• Indian/Asian	0.6%
• White	80.5%
• Other	1.0%
First languages (2011) [2]
• Afrikaans	51.5%
• English	43.4%
• Xhosa	1.4%
• Other	3.8%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	7441
PO box	7437
Area code	021

Melkbosstrand (Afrikaans for "Milkbush beach") is a coastal town located on the South West Coast of South Africa, 30 km north of Cape Town. It forms part of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality, the municipality governing Cape Town and its greater metropolitan area.

Named after the species of Euphorbiaceae bushes which grow on the dunes and give off a milky latexlike substance, it is commonly referred to simply as Melkbos. The town and its 7 kilometre stretch of white sand beach is situated on the Atlantic coast with the Blouberg mountain to the east. The beach is popular with surfers.^{[citation needed]} It is one of the landing points for the South Africa-Far East, South Atlantic/West Africa and Equinao submarine cable systems.

Melkbosstrand is along the Blaauwberg region of the City of Cape Town within which it became incorporated when metropolitan boundaries were redrawn, following the advent of democracy in 1994. Its nearest neighbouring towns are Blouberg to the south and Atlantis to the north-east. Melkbos is protected from urban development owing to its location in an expansive nature conservation zone to the South, insulating it from the Blouberg sprawl, and the security buffer zones of Koeberg nuclear power station to the North and today it remains a pristine seaside resort.^[3]