From the dassies on Table Mountain to the penguins of Boulders Beach, you’re never far from nature in Cape Town.
Meeting dassies on Table Mountain
From the top of Table Mountain on a blazing blue-sky day, Cape Town’s appeal is obvious. The views look over national parkland, the beaches at Clifton and Camps Bay, the sleek bowl of Cape Town Stadium and scores of walking trails. There are few cities that can compete with the beauty of Cape Town’s setting.
But then you see some little brown things scuttling on the rocks. Closer investigation reveals them to be dassies, the adorably cute tubby furballs that hang out on Table Mountain. They’re an unexpected – and delightful – surprise that confirm the overall theme of Cape Town: the detail is just as enchanting as the big picture.
Tourist highlights of Cape Town
Take the aerial cableway back down to the city, and there are several different Cape Towns to explore. Some may prefer the hip wine bars and pan-African restaurants of the city centre; some the traditional Cape Malay restaurants in brightly painted, photogenic Bo Kaap; others the showy sundown cocktails in glamourous beachside hotspot Camps Bay.
You’re never too far from nature in Cape Town, though. Go wine-tasting in the atmospheric centuries-old wineries of Constantia, and you’ve got the impressively tranquil Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens on the doorstep. Take the ferry over to Robben Island to see where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, and there’s a good chance of spotting southern right whales and seals on the way.
Exploring the Cape Peninsula
The city blends into the Cape Peninsula, which is a natural wonderland. Here, tremendous day hikes head through the distinctive fynbos-filled landscape, while brooding clifftops stare out over seemingly unending ocean. If you’re feeling less energetic, then a drive along the vertiginous Chapman’s Peak Drive around photogenic Hout Bay.
Heading to Cape Point at the very southern tip of the Peninsula requires crossing over to False Bay, where family-friendly beaches and fishing villages turned indie creative hubs cluster. Near Navy hub Simon’s Town, Boulders Beach provides one of the world’s great wildlife experiences. It is teeming with a colony of African penguins, and watching them fight, flirt, groom and feed from the boardwalks is mesmerising – and frequently richly comic.
The road to Cape Point
Just south of Boulders Beach, the idea of this being a major city suddenly disappears. The road down to Cape Point passes through what may as well be moody wilderness.
The bottom of the Cape is dominated by the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, where ostriches can often be found strutting, but you’re more likely to encounter troops of entirely fearless baboons. They’re highly entertaining, as long as they’re marauding around someone else’s car.
The handsome old lighthouse and the funicular heading to the best viewing spot of the wild, crashing ocean, are amongst the highlights down here. But for something more quiet and reflective, take the 40 minute windblown walk to the Cape of Good Hope, where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet.
It’s this closeness to nature that makes Cape Town truly special. It can be a city break, beach holiday and out-in-the-wild adventure at the same time. Just make sure those baboons don’t run off with your lunch…
More Cape Town travel
For a big selection of Cape Town tours and excursions, head this way.
Other Cape Town articles on Planet Whitley include:
- The Heart of Cape Town Museum – home of the world’s first heart transplant.
Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you book through them, I earn a small commission.
