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Discover
Cape Point’s nature reserve… natural
extravaganza at land’s end
between Cape Point and the Western Table of Table Mountain close to the
outskirts of the City of Cape Town.
One of the top tourist destinations in South Africa is Cape Point. Yet surprisingly
few people who visit it take the time to explore the beautiful Cape of Good
Hope Nature Reserve that surrounds Cape Point. The nature reserve forms
part of Table Mountain National Park, which in turn forms part of the Cape
Floral Region, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Table Mountain of course is also
one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
The nature reserve at Cape Point has a number of hiking or walking routes
along well-maintained paths and boardwalks, while one can also drive through
for better game viewing. The dramatic coastline here with its many secluded
coves and beaches are a true nature-lover’s delight…and it’s all within easy
reach.
After visiting the historic light houses and information centre at Cape Point,
you can follow a shipwreck trail, hike or cycle along the paths, braai or picnic
on the beach, do some surfing or diving, or go game viewing and see the eland,
red hartebeest, bontebok and zebra living in the reserve. Due to the variety of
wildlife here it is the only section of the overall park that is fenced.
However, several activities require permits, so best to find out about these
beforehand. A visit to the Buffelsfontein Visitor Centre will tell you all about the
plants and animals to look out for in a particular season.
While at Cape Point, you may want to extend your excursion to visit the
penguins at nearby Boulders beach, or explore Smitswinkel Bay, Simonstown,
Scarborough, Misty Cliffs and a number of other nearby attractions. If you
have more time on hand, consider doing the 5-day, 4-night Hoerikwaggo Trail
Cape Point is often billed as the site where two oceans meet – the cold Atlantic
and the warm Indian Ocean. However, their meeting is really stretched out
between Cape Point and Cape Agulhas. But the cold Benguela Current and the
warm Agulhas Current do part ways more or less at Cape Point. This is why the
sea water on the Atlantic side of the Cape Peninsula is much colder than on the
False Bay side where you find the Indian Ocean. Cape Point has them on either
side of its jagged, 800m high cliffs.
Upon rounding the Cape Point and the peninsula in 1488, Portuguese explorer
Bartolomeu Dias named it the Cape of Storms. In 1580 Sir Francis Drake called
it the ‘The Fairest Cape in all the World’. A decade later, another Portuguese
seafarer, Vasco da Gama, sailed around and successfully opened a new trading
route for Europe with India and the Far East, prompting King John II of Portugal
to rename it the Cape of Good Hope.
After completing your hike or drive through the reserve, you may want to get
something really good to eat at the Two Oceans Restaurant. And for shoppers
there is Tigers Eye Curio Shop. You can also leave your car safely in the public
parking area and take the popular “Flying Dutchman” funicular railway car up
the steep slope to the steps leading to the Old Lighthouse Lookout Point. From
there, just follow the signs, boardwalks and footpaths.
Contact: TMNP - Buffelsfontein Visitor Centre Tel +27(0) 21 780 9204;
Cape Point Visitor Centre Tel +27 (0)21 780 9010 or Email info@capepoint.
co.za; Hoerikwaggo Trails Booking Office Tel +27 (0)21 422 2816 or Email
hoerikwaggobookings@sanparks.org.
30 |ISSUE 6|www.mzanzitravel.co.za | MZANZI TRAVEL
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