Visiting Cape Town has many adventures for active travellers. One of our favourite day trips is a meander around the Cape Peninsula. Spend your day visiting seaside vistas and taking in Africa’s most southwestern point’s nature, history and culture.
Leaving the mother city and the giant wall of Table Mountain is an introduction to the splendour of our habitat. The diversity on this drive is incredible as it boasts more plant species than the whole of Europe. Kirstenbosch Gardens in the Southern Suburbs is a reminder of this world-renowned floral kingdom.
Up Old Boyes Drive, enter what is the start of a scenic seaside jaunt that just gets better and better. Muizenberg Beach, the birthplace of surfing in South Africa, stretches into miles of white coastline that hugs False Bay. Look out for the famous shark spotters with their sharp eyes on the swells that hide Great Whites, a marine phenomenon in this piece on the Indian Ocean. Kalk Bay is the next point of view, a quaint fishing village with little shops and cafes for the bohemian traveller.
Rolling along the steep mountainsides, Simonstown is visible in the distance, and battle-ready frigates in the harbour signal the home of South Africa’s Navy. Daily kayak tours and boat trips depart from this old town. Boulders Beach is just around the corner and home to a two-thousand-strong African Penguin colony. The only place you can swim with penguins and enjoy such beautiful animals close up.
Leaving human settlement behind for some time, enter Cape Point Nature Reserve and possibly see the giant Eland Antelope and Ostrich roaming through the Fynbos. Stopping at Cape Point Lighthouse, take the Flying Dutchman funicular or a short hike up to the old lighthouse. Rumours of ghost ships that haunt these turbulent seas are fitting when the fog rolls in. Watch for Baboons as you enjoy a bite to eat, and these cunning opportunists leave no scraps of stolen food.
Below is the Cape of Good Hope. The place of storms and feared by many a sailor. Feel the spray on your skin and remember the explorers who rounded this point on a mission to link up with a new world.
The Atlantic leg of the tour takes you through the isolated seaside villages of Scarborough, Misty Cliffs and Kommetjie. Quiet beaches and hidden surf spots are friends of the laid-back Cape Town vibe and bring a calm with the ocean breeze.
Through Noordhoek, enter the gates of Chapman’s Peak Drive. Arguably the most scenic cliffside drive in the world. Noordhoek Beach stretches back, and in it, specks of surfers and kiteboarders like ants in the sand. Wind around feats of engineering and summit with a view of the turquoise waters of Hout Bay. Descend into the town and possibly see Cape Fur Seals frolicking in the harbour waters.
Over the hill, the final leg stretches along a coastline of South Africa’s wealthiest properties. Watch the sun setting over a cocktail at Camps Bay beach and marvel over the adventure that just waved you goodbye.
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