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Driving to the Southern Tip of Africa

Driving the Cape Peninsula of South Africa

August 30, 2012

Last Updated on October 9, 2020

Driving the Cape Peninsula was the highlight of our South Africa itinerary and we highly recommend it if you love a good road trip!

The road hugs the cliff, meandering along the edge of the Table Mountain range all the way to Cape of Good Hope, the southwesternmost tip of Africa. On one side, the steep slopes plunge dramatically into the Atlantic Ocean; and on the other, needle-sharp peaks soar into the sky.

On our recent trip to Cape Town, we made it a point to experience the Cape Peninsula loop again, with the folks from Escape to the Cape. There are so many things to do in Cape Town, but this drive definitely ranks as one of my favorite.

Starting out from Muizenberg, our first stop was Kalk Bay, a bohemian village littered with a flurry of antique shops, flea markets and indie boutiques. We then continued down to Simon’s Town, the third oldest town in South Africa, having been founded right after the settlements of Cape Town and Stellenbosch.

Table of Contents

  • Frolicking with Penguins
  • Hiking in Cape Point Reserve
  • Cape of Good Hope
  • Climbing up to Cape Point Lighthouse

Frolicking with Penguins

While it’s a charming fishermen’s village, the town is better known for the African Penguin colony that inhabit the nearby Boulders Beach. A wooden boardwalk weaves through the penguin’s habitat, allowing intimate encounters with the cute little animals. 

Over 3,000 penguins live in the area, many of them staying here permanently due to the cold water and other favorable living conditions. We watched some of them lounging around under the sun, others enjoying a dip in the clear waters. The penguins were clearly well protected in their natural habitat, free to roam around the area.

Boulders Beach
A penguin on Boulders Beach

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Penguins at Boulders Beach

Hiking in Cape Point Reserve

The drive from Simon’s Town to the Cape Point Nature Reserve brought us through plains filled with brown and yellow shrubs and green thorny cacti.

According to our guide Shaheed, there are more vegetation varieties here than that in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand combined. As we drove through the nature reserve, we spotted a rainbow across the horizon, creating once again an impressive backdrop.

Rainbow in the skies

Cape of Good Hope

Making a stopover at the Cape of Good Hope, we chanced upon several ostriches, looking startled as we all stood wide-eyed staring at the animal in awe.

The Cape of Good Hope is the southwesternmost tip of Africa and naturally, draws in quite a crowd. We had to actually go in line with other tourists for our turn to snap a shot with the sign!

Cape of Good Hope

Climbing up to Cape Point Lighthouse

We continued our journey to the Cape Point lighthouse, set dramatically against the crashing ocean. Cliff trails wind around the vegetation and lead to the lighthouse, we took just twenty minutes to hike along the trail, before we were treated to expansive views of the ocean.

Driving to the Southern Tip of Africa

Alberto and I at the lighthouse

Our route back via the Atlantic Seaboard was all the more impressive, as we drove through the town of Scarborough and the gorgeous surfing beach of Noordhoek. From Misty Cliffs, we got an atmospheric view of the sea, with a light mist creating quite a romantic setting.

Noordhoek
Misty Cliffs

Our trip culminated at Chapman’s Peak Drive, where we drank in a view of the crescent-shaped bay and spotted sealions and sharks swimming beneath us.

Chapman's Peak

If you ever find yourself in Cape Town, be sure to head out to the peninsula for a day, you might find yourself hooked to it – just as I was.


Disclosure: Our trip was made possible by Cape Town Tourism, but all opinions are our own. 

For more photos from the Cape Peninsular, click here. Be sure to follow us on Twitter with the #LoveCapeTown hashtag.

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Nellie Huang

Nellie Huang is the founder of WildJunket. Originally from Singapore, Nellie has traveled to over 150 countries across 7 continents. As an accomplished travel writer, she has written for BBC Travel, CNN and Rough Guides. She is also the author of five travel books, including the latest Lonely Planet's Mexico guidebook. Read more about her here and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

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The Comments

  • Dean
    August 30, 2012

    This is some very spectacular coastline! Looks like a beautiful drive.

    Reply
  • CeCe
    September 2, 2012

    This is also one of my favorite coastal drives. It reminded me a little bit of Big Sur and the Central Coast area of California, minus penguins, baboons, and ostriches.

    Reply
  • Neil Playdon
    March 5, 2013

    The photos you have put up are stunning. Chapmans Peak Drive (the cliff-hugging road from Cape Town) is a must for anyone visiting this area. Looks like you hit Cape Point at its usual windy self looking at your photos but when the sun is out it really doesnt matter how windy it is! Glad you enjoyed your trip and hope to see you again soon :-)

    Reply
  • Colleen Setchell
    November 17, 2013

    Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!! It's been ages since I was in Cape Town. Did you see any baboons? Crazy animals they are. Jumped all over our car in an attempt to get at some crisps :-) Loving your photos as usual, thanks for sharing…

    Reply
    • Nellie
      Colleen Setchell
      November 24, 2013

      Yes definitely saw lots of rowdy baboons! :)

      Reply

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