Top Attractions on the Cape Point Route....

The Cape Point Route offers a multi-layered holiday experience which is rich in natural and human resources. There are some obvious sights and attractions that simply have to be ticked off as a lifetime experience as a must-see and must-do. It makes no difference whether you are a comfort loving oldie, a young family with children or an independent single-something traveller. If the south-easterly winds carry you onto the Cape Point Route you will discover colour and geography like no where else on the planet. The area is an attraction all of its own - it’s a 360 degree nature park, 365 days a year.

Choosing the top attractions in the region from Hout Bay south over Chapman’s Peak, through the Noordhoek Valley to Cape Point on the Atlantic seaboard and up the False Bay coastline through the coastal towns of Simon’s Town, Fish Hoek and Kalk Bay to Muizenberg is fundamentally a choice of desire. The top attractions are not based on popularity due to visitor numbers alone. They are the top attractions because they offer the visitor an uplifting and often jaw-dropping experience that remains in the memories and the photographs of each individual for a lifetime.

Perhaps the most well known attraction in the Cape Peninsula is Cape Point itself. Cape Point is in the Cape of Good Hope section of Table Mountain National Park and is famed for its windswept soaring cliffs, 40 kilometres of coastline, beaches & open space. It also offers bragging rights as the most southwesterly point of Africa. It is almost a traveler’s ritual to stand in front of the signpost: "Cape of Good Hope: the South-Westernmost Point of the African Continent" and have a photo taken. Regardless of your convictions, you’ll take one too.

There is much more to the reserve than the obligatory photo snap. Antelope and baboons might greet your vehicle as you approach the reserve and you may see ostriches roaming the beaches. The park has Natural World Heritage Site status mostly due to the 1200 different species of unique fynbos vegetation, the abundant birdlife and numerous small mammals.

You can ride up 238 metres in the continents’ only funicular to the spot where one gets the dramatic view of the jagged point and crashing oceans. It is hard not to believe this is where the cold Benguela current of the Atlantic Ocean and the warm Agulhas current of the Indian Ocean meet, despite scientific evidence to the contrary. It may have caused controversy but there is little surprise that the restaurant at Cape Point calls itself Two Oceans. The vast expanse of ocean viewed from every seat causes a major distraction from the superb cuisine, but it is advisable to pay attention to what’s on your plate!

There are 2 lighthouses in the nature reserve, the old one at the view point was decommissioned as it was frequently surrounded by mist and did not serve its purpose in keeping the ships at sea. The new lighthouse was built lower down and one can walk along a spectacular path to view its position and appreciate the engineering logistics required to build the lighthouse in its current remarkable location. The beam is the most powerful on the African coastline. There are 2 more lighthouses on the Cape Point Route both with claims to fame. Roman Rock is situated in False Bay at the entrance to the historical naval harbour of Simons Town, but is of particular interest as it is the only lighthouse on the South African coastline to have been erected on a single rock! On the Atlantic coastline, keeping watch over the surfers, divers and fishermen in the village of Kommetjie is Slangkoppunt Lighthouse. At 33 metres in height this is the tallest lighthouse along the South African coast and one of the most easily accessible lighthouses to visit. You can walk to the top on a guided tour with the lighthouse keeper and experience one of the most magnificent views on the Cape Point Route. Visiting and photographing lighthouses is a popular hobby and the lighthouse buildings are maintained as tourist attractions reflecting part of the heritage and legacy of this region, which at times has been called the Cape of Storms.

For more info on the Cape Point Route, call us on 021 782 9356 or visit our website www.capepointroute.co.za