A Sunny Day Around The Cape Peninsula

in #travelfeed6 years ago (edited)

Apologies for being away for a long time! I had a hectic busy week.

One of the challenging sightseeing activites in Cape Town for me was a trip to the Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. When I looked up online, I was only able to find out information about the guided tours that started from 500 Rand. An alternative option was to do self-driving. The problem was - and I am telling you guys for the first time- I don't have a driver's license. Luckily, I have friends who do (as pragmatic as it sounds). So, we decided to rent a car.

How to rent a car in Cape Town?

Manual cars start from 350 Rands per day while the automatic ones can rise up to 500-600 Rands per day. In addition to that, most rental companies will require a deposit of around 3000 Rands that would be returned to you if the car is unharmed and in one piece.

There are cheap rental companies, although they will only accept purchasing of three days and longer. In that case, you can go long distances by paying 150-200 per day.

Our Route

Basically, our route was as follows: Chapman's Peak- Noordhoek- Kommetjie - Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope- Simon's Town. Here is the map

Chapman's Peak

It is highly regarded as one of the most scenic drives in the world. 

It was first discovered in the 17th century by John Chapman, the captain of a British ship. Source. When I first came to the Hout Bay, I had a chance to walk some of it but saw a lot people jogging and cycling.

The construction and the enginnering of the road was really hassling since there were frequent landslides until the year 2009.

Noordhoek

After absorbing every inch of Chapman's Peak, our next stop was Noordhoek. Noordhoek is the widest beach of Cape Town on the Atlantic Coast. 

The captain who discovered Chapman's Peak actually mistook the place for Cape of Good Hope so approached the coast, however the ship ran aground. In fact, the shipwreck still lies out in the open of the Noordhoek Beach. Source

The most prevalent activity to do here is to ride a horse, although we didn't have time for that.

I also heard that this is a popular weekend getaway place for Capetownians, including some celebrities.

Kommetjie

The next is Kommetjie to the south of Noordhoek. This is known as one of the best surf spots of Cape Town. It's also known for the abundance of a lobster type called the Spiny Lobster. Just like Noordhoek, Kommetjie is also known as a weekend getaway spot.

Cape Point & Cape of Good Hope

Now we are at the southern-most point of the Cape Peninsula, at the entrance of the Cape Point National Park. We first had to pay the entrance fee of 135 ZAR per person. The officer told us that we had until the sunset to leave the park, otherwise we would have to pay a penalty fee. Then, he handed us a map of the sightseeing in the park. Cape Point National Park is not all about Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. In fact, there is a diversity of attractions from hiking to whale and bird watching.


We first decided to stop by Cape Point. I could notice the baboons with the bank clerk-ish kind of grumpy looks on their faces. I wish I could say "don't be fooled by these looks, they are so friendly", but that's not the case. I watched a video on Youtube where one baboon literally opens the door of an unlocked car and reaches for the purse of a woman before running away. It's not because they are trained by professional thiefs or anything, but they have been aggressive upon spotting food ever since being fed by humans. So, don't try to feed them or don't flash your food in front of them.

It took us about 10 minutes to reach the Cape Point. The amount of wind I was exposed to on that day was greater than the total amount experienced in my entire life! It was the strong currents and wind that caused a lot of wrecks. The lighthouse was built to make the place more visible and to prevent future accidents.


Cape of Good Hope is 5 minutes driving distance from Cape Point. This is often confused for the southernmost tip of Africa and the merging point of Indian and Atlantic Ocean. However, it's not Cape Point, it is Cape Agulhas 4 hours away from Cape Town along the southern coast.

Cape Point was discovered by Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias. It was then used as the ultimalte trade route between Europe and Asia up until the constuction of the Suez Canal.

We tried really hard to take a picture of the sign without the annoying tourists (because I wasn't one of them).

We also spotted a lot of ostriches here. Did you know that ostrich is the only animal whose eyes are bigger than their brain. Source

As I mentioned before, Cape Point has a lot of attractions, but we unfortunately have to move on because we still have to visit Simon's Town.

Simon's Town

So, we headed towards the north east of the Cape Peninsula towards Simon's Town. Even the least knowledgable about Cape Town would know that this place is famous for the African penguins. These penguins generaly accumulated in the area called Boulder's Beach, but also found in various spots throughout South Africa and Namibia. They are becoming extinct, so they are under protection. That's why, you can't cross to the site of penguins while at the main Boulder's Beach. Although there are small beaches around that contain fewer penguins where you can swim amongst them.

Costs

Since we were four people:

Car Rental: 400/4=100 Rand

Fuel: 250/4= 62.5 Rand (you can calculate the total distance using the route planner of Google Maps)

Entry to the Cape Point National Park: 135 Rand

Boulder's Beach entrance = 70 Rand

Adding in the small expenses such as coffee and snacks, the total amount per person throughout the day was 400 Rand. For a cheaper price; not only did we save at least 100 ZAR per person, but we also constructed a more flexible schedule and got to stop at multiple destinations.

I will try to not leave a wide gap between my posts, I hope you find this article helpful though. Don't forget to drop me a comment ;)

Cheers;

Haritakurdu


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Cool post. Great pictures. I think I like Chapman's Peak the best followed by Cape Point. I like the travel log with costs too :) Quality posts are more important that quantity @haritakurdu

Chapman's Peak is definitely a wonderland! But thanks a lot for your encouraging words, I definitely agree :)

That drive is the best thing I have ever done. Views for days.

It looks outstanding

I can never get enough of that view!

I like to see the penguins back in South Africa at your pictures! Think they love to travel as well. I didn’t spot them from that close and not that many at one spot in New Zealand and already enjoyed it big time, felt your sensation while being so close to them by your pictures. Did you really swim with them? Thanks for this great post!

!tf100!

Thanks for stopping by @guchtere In the main beach it is forbidden to swim with them but we visited the smaller beach once although we didn't go in for a swim. We accessed that small beach through another entrance other than the main one (still paying the entry fee).

Ok, ok, ok. Bear with me @haritakurdu!

First @themagus posts photos of South Africa with snow, now you post pictures of Penguins in South Africa????

How's that possible? hahahahahaha

Your post caused a severe case of wanderlust in me, great article.

hahahah it does snow in a few town inland in South Africa. But I gave the same reaction when I first heard about the penguins here :) These penguins are much smaller in size compared to the artctic penguins though.

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Thanks for dropping by my last post. We are practically friends now. (hugs)

I just love CT. I was to be there for Cape Wine 2018 but I skipped it. Seeing these pictures make me miss it even more.

Yay :) I always love having new friends :) It's a shame that you skipped it but bear in mind that summer will be here in a few months, so make plans accordingly ;)

Great walk down memory lane, sadly most the places today charge which we never experienced OK some years ago!

Actually there were no baboon invasions at that time either, shows what development does to animals having to adapt.

You did it the right way way sharing a rental, seeing more and enjoying a full day outing. The Cape offers so much to see and do, look forward to seeing future post @haritakurdu

I think baboons got used to people feeding them, which is why it is strictly forbidden now (if you are spotted by the cameras while feeding them, you have to pay a penalty fee). I also found Cape Point entrance to be a little expensive, but I guess it can be paid once-off :)


This post was shared in the Curation Collective Discord community for curators, and upvoted and resteemed by the @c-squared community account after manual review.

Oh my that is gorgeous! And the penguins!! I would love to get up close and personal with a penguin!!

hahaha I know! I have even cuter photos of penguins but they are in my camera now. I will post them in a future post :)

oh I do look forward to that!!

Such an amazing place! I'd love to visit it one day! Those cliffs and the beach with the penguins looked fabulous!

It really is a natural wonder, and the penguins are so adorable :)