I’m taking some quiet time to appreciate Cape Town, the city I get to call home, and thought I’d write some posts about my favourite Cape Town Attractions, this one is about the Cape of Good Hope.
Said to be the place where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet, this is certainly a place high on the priority list of any visitor to Cape Town, and once you venture out you will see exactly why. The drive from Simonstown towards the Park is scenically magnificent, with winding roads that hug the coastline and uninterrupted vistas across False Bay. You may even see a Southern Right Whale if the season is correct.
Situated at the tip of the Cape Peninsula and 60 km south-west of Cape Town, Cape Point is a nature reserve within the Table Mountain National Park and has been declared a Natural World Heritage Site. The area is 7750 hectares in size and is rich in Cape Fynbos, buck, chacma baboons and Cape Mountain Zebra – not to mention the incredible bird life.
There are so many beaches and view points to enjoy if you have the time, actually you will even find accommodation that can be booked to maximise on your stay, although most visitors head to the lower station and visitors centre and either take the Furnicular or walk up to the first lighthouse – now no longer in use. It was commissioned in 1860 and stands at 238 m above sea-level, although time showed that once the Cape mist comes in the lighthouse could not be seen above it, and a lower Lighthouse was added in 1914.
I do make the trip out as often as possible, and try to find the time to visit my absolute favourite beach, almost always deserted. There is something that touches the soul as I stand and look South, knowing that the next piece of solid land is Antarctica. How much water must lies between here and there. I think of early sailors, ships wrecked, history past and the fish in the Oceans – be it Indian or Atlantic. This is a special place, make a day of it.
THE ESSENTIAL DETAILS.
- Location: At the very tip of False Bay with two ways to get there, you can get there one way and back the other. Directions here.
- Contact Details: Tel +27 21 7809010 and info@capepoint.co.za
- Opening Times: Daily from 06:00 to 18:00 (October – March) and from 07:00 to 17:00 (April – September) and the Flying Dutchman Funicular from 09:00am to 17:30pm.
- Website: http://capepoint.co.za/
- Ticket Prices: R135 pp for adults and R70 per child and the Flying Dutchman Funicular from 9:00am – 5:30pm.
*Part of my Cape Town Attractions series.
