The Cape Peninsular is to the south of Cape Town. If you like penguins [and you do!] then a visit to Boulders Beach near Simonstown is a must. We hopped in an uber to see the penguins on the same day that we arrived in Cape Town from England so we were a bit knackered but we didn’t care! We hired a car for the second week of our trip and spent the day at Cape Point via the scenic Chapman’s Peak Drive and on the way back we strolled along Noordhoek beach.
A little bit infatuated by penguins am I, and so is Leora my eldest daughter. The chance of having a paddle with a penguin was an opportunity not to be missed. There are over 2000 South African penguins here and you can watch them from elevated walkways. Next to the ticket office at the entrance is a fantastic penguin themed shop but we headed straight down the walkway for our first glimpse of a penguin and visited the shop on the way back. If you want to get away from the crowds and closer to the penguins it’s best to take the walkway to Foxy Beach which is above the main entrance. This will take you to a quieter sandy cove where you can have a picnic and a paddle with them. Do not touch or feed the penguins as they won’t appreciate it. If you climb over [and under] the boulders on the far side of the beach and you may find yourself alone with a penguin or two.
This toll road road is known as one of the most scenic coastal drives in the world. It’s only about 6.5 miles long but it winds along the spectacular coast from Hout Bay to Noordhoek offering splendid views along the way. I was told it was a bit of a hairy scary experience but after some of my mountain drives in Greece I found this drive quite tame by comparison. The views were undeniably wonderful though and it was the perfect start for our trip to Cape Point.
Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve and Cape Point
It’s a pleasant drive to the Nature Reserve which is where the Cape of Good Hope and the lighthouse at Cape Point are situated. We saw plenty of baboons along [and in] the way who looked cute but it’s not advisable to approach them and it’s forbidden to feed them. There is a toll booth/ticket office on the road and then it’s only a few more miles to the main car park at Cape Point. There are other places to park and walking trails along the way but our focus, like most visitors was to head for the southern tip. I would recommend arriving early in order to avoid the coach loads of tourists that descend in the late morning and early afternoon.
Next to the main car park is a shop selling souvenirs and the well regarded Two Oceans Restaurant as well as cafe next to it which was very busy by the end of the day. If you keep your eyes open you may catch sight of little meeces [South African Pouched Mice] outside the cafe. We hopped onto the funicular which takes you [nearly] up to the lighthouse. You can walk if you wish but it is a steep climb. The views were wonderful with the Indian Ocean on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other.
We decided to have our picnic below the lighthouse and headed along the trail that started to the left of the car park near the toilet block. We veered off to a rocky area for our picnic and were alone apart from lizzards and a lone wandering Eland which took us by surprise.
We doubled back to the Voetpad Trail trail that took us past Dias Beach and more wonderful views before returning to our car. The trail is rather dilapidated in some places so you need to keep your wits about you.
Noordhoek Beach
On the way back from Cape Point we stopped for a stroll along Noordhoek beach and to look for the shipwreck we had seen on highlighted on Google Maps. We left the car in the small car park which thankfully had toilet facilities and we had a lovely walk and paddle towards the wreck on the other side of the sandy bay. There was not much left to see of the wreck but it was still an evocative image. We also saw the smoke from a wild fire that was taking hold in the distance. This affected our journey home as the main road was closed and we were diverted back through Chapmans Peak Drive which was gridlocked. Tolls were suspended although we did not mind the slow and beautiful drive home, I believe that the fire was quite serious and burned for a couple of days causing much damage.
Quick Links:
Gruntie's Travels 