Shifting Gear: Cape Peninsula and further afield

Today is Sunday and we are almost half way through our month's holiday here in South Africa. Since last Sunday we've covered several hundred kilometers, moving south of Cape Town to Noordhoek and Simon's Town (in the Cape Peninsula) and then up the coast north of Cape Town to the small coastal settlement of Jacob's Bay. Yesterday morning we left Jacob's Bay and are now in Paarl. Like Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, Paarl is a well known area in the Cape Winelands. This morning's activity was an interesting tour around the famous KWV winery and of course tasting afterwards, which resulted in a a few purchases! Tonight we are sampling SA haute cuisine with a Valentine's Day dinner at Bosman's Restaurant.

A brief outline of our last 7 days:

From Cape Town we drove to Noordhoek: Noordhoek isn't far from Cape Town and the road hugs the coast, climbing high above sea level, giving stunning views over the ocean. Rounding a bend the first view of Noordhoek beach is a surprise....white white sand and the beach stretching out for several kilometers, wonderfully pristine with no buildings or man made features. The day we walked here we only saw a few other people.

Noordhoek beach, Cape Peninsula

We visited Cape Point Vineyards in Noordhoek for our first SA wine tasting experience, followed by lunch. As most of you know, our time here overlapped with Graham and Ann's holiday, so we met at Cape Point Vineyards and enjoyed a delicious lunch together.

Lunch with Graham and Ann at Cape Point Vineyards, Noordhoek

view of Simon's Town

2 days in Simon's Town: another early morning start reaped rewards. From our guest house near Simon’s Town it was only a half hour scenic drive to the national park which covers the southern part of the Cape Peninsula. The coast road south from Simon’s Town has beautiful views of False Bay and then turns inland and climbs to reach the park entrance and soon after that we were at the car park at Cape Point. Neither Cape Point or Cape of Good Hope are the most southerly point of the African continent, but they are the most southern point of the Cape Peninsula. We set off on foot on the uphill path to the lighthouse at the top of the cliff at Cape Point…there’s a funicular but it was out of service this day! We saw only a few other visitors as we trudged up the steep path, stopping repeatedly to take photos of the stunning views of the Cape of Good Hope and surrounding cliffs. Words can't do this justice.

Cape of Good Hope from Cape Point

path to the new lighthouse and old one high up in the background

the lighthouse at Cape Point (newer one, nearer the sea)

It only took about 15 minutes to reach the top of Cape Point and the old lighthouse which is no longer in use (it was built in the 1850s but was too high up for ships to see in bad weather). Having got our breath we set off on the Lighthouse Keeper's Trail, a walk to the new lighthouse lower down. This was a hot walk in the baking sun but the views near the tip of the peninsula and the dramatic cliffs were spectacular. By the time we got back to the car park the whole area was teeming with people and buses and we congratulated ourselves for having made an early start and enjoyed the views and walks on our own. Somehow scenic places are just not the same when you have to sidestep people and listen to their chatter.

North of Cape Town: after a few days in the Cape Peninsula we drove north of Cape Town and stayed in a small residential settlement called Jacob's Bay on the west coast where all the homes are painted white and instantly reminded us of the Greek islands. Klokkiebosch guest house was delightful surprise, the owner having a penchant for refined and elegant European decor. From Jacob's Bay we visited Paternoster, a bit larger and more of a tourist destination than Jacob's Bay, but with the same white houses. We had a wonderful walk along the breezy beach at Paternoster in brilliant sunshine and then a gourmet lunch at The Noisy Oyster (sadly no oysters as the recent red tide has made shellfish unsafe to eat).