Cape Point

Unable to escape the aptness of its original name – the Cape of Storms and the Cape of Good Hope simultaneously live up to its reputation for beauty. No one place in South Africa offers more opportunities for similes, comparisons and profound metaphors.

Approximately 60km south-west of the City, Cape Point, a protected Nature Reserve, is an area of vast natural beauty, world-renowned for its natural vegetation and rich biodiversity.

Spectacular is a word often overused by tour guides, but Cape Point does seem to leave one scrambling for adjectives. As beautiful as it may be, hold on to your hat, both figuratively and literally.

You will reach the famous view point by walking or via the Flying Dutchman Funicular, ascending over 87 meters along a 585-meter rail line in about three minutes – saving your thighs and thrilling the children.

Discovered by the Portuguese explorer, Bartolomeu Dias in 1488, this geographical finger pointing toward the cold arctic is often thought of as the furthest south a person can go before falling off the edge of Africa. That honour, however, falls to a more out of the way destination called Cape Agulhas.

Visitors to Cape Town are advised to purchase a TMNP (Table Mountain National Park) “My Green Card” which allows 12 entries to all of the protected parks inside this cluster for a nominal annual fee.