Cape Peninsula
A spine of mountain and forest, laced with walking trails and fringed by white-sanded beaches, the Cape Peninsula runs 70km out into the ocean. It encompasses seaside towns, fishing villages and a national park where baboons, zebra, ostrich and antelope roam.
Cape Point, at its tip, is the most south-westerly corner of Africa. Walk up, or take the three-minute funicular ride, for a real end-of-the-world feeling – and discover why Sir Francis Drake described the Cape of Good Hope as “the fairest cape we saw in the whole circumference of the earth”. The lighthouse there has long been one of the world’s great shipping beacons, marking the turning point for vessels sailing between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
Flashy sunbirds flit among bright flowers and glossy, blue-black starlings fly off to display their red-brown underwing. Cape baboons are everywhere. Often a nuisance, they are both devious and smart – they’ve even taught themselves to fish.
A network of walking trails takes you among the 1300 plant species that grow in the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. They include over 300 varieties of protea and even more types of mesembryanthemum, whose fleshy leaves provide fire protection.
The eastern False Bay coastline of the Peninsula is where Capetonians come to swim (join them, but watch out for the jellyfish). Its seaside towns hum with summer activity and weekend crowds.
This coast is also known for sightings of southern right whales in early summer. It got the name False Bay because historically it fooled Portuguese sailors. In rough weather, seeing Table Mountain ahead they believed themselves to be in Table Bay and rounded the coast, only to find themselves run aground on the rocks.
There are several must-see stops along this coast. Muizenberg, much loved by Cecil Rhodes and Rudyard Kipling, is a popular holiday resort. Kalk Bay is still a working fishing harbour and famed for its fresh fish and chips. Fish Hoek, with its sandy, gently sloping beach, is favoured for retirement and holiday houses and Simon’s Town is home to the South African Navy. Grand Georgian and Victorian buildings grace this former British naval base with several nautically-minded museums.
Nearby Boulders, all sheltered coves and safe bathing, is popular with families. It is also penguin land. Pay your £1, pass through a turnstile, follow the boardwalk and you get to watch a colony of quizzical jackass penguins going about their daily life in the sand dunes and communing along the beach. Sheer magic.
Added 2008/08/07 @ 00:24:26
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