Known affectionately as the Mother City, Cape Town is considered South Africa’s legislative capital and oldest city. The city centre combines world wonders with colourful multiculturalism, but there is even more to see within a short driving distance. From African penguins to the Cape Winelands to the tip of the Cape Peninsula, there is plenty to explore from Cape Town.
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
Approx. 20 minutes by car from central Cape Town
Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden is located on the outskirts of central Cape Town, in the shadow of Table Mountain. The tree top canopy walk—or the Boomslang, as it’s alternatively known—was my highlight. From its curving elevation it was easy to see the expanse of the vast garden. We were presented with beautiful views of Table Mountain and the Cape Flats. It being late spring, the dense foliage spread out beneath us and swept up the side of the mountain.
Kirstenbosch seemed to have a garden for everything. There was a fragrance garden, a medicinal garden, and a sculpture garden complete with Shona stone sculptures (and tin dinosaurs—why not?). There was also an arboretum, another of my favourite sections for the shade it provided on the hot and sunny day. The ‘Useful Plants’ garden was also fascinating, whilst sounding comically like the title of a set text for Hogwarts.
Covering a massive 1300 acres, it was very easy to get lost in Kirstenbosch. I definitely lost my companions at least twice as we wandered around the gardens. Though we lingered only an hour, I could easily have spent the whole day chilling within the flowers or under the trees.
Boulders Beach
Approx. 1 hour by car from central Cape Town
Boulders Beach is so named for the large granite boulders that litter the shore. More importantly, they shelter the beach’s main attraction: penguins. The colony of African penguins that live on the beach settled there in 1982. They’re now an endangered species, and the beach’s small entry fee goes towards conservation. Boulders Beach is a protected natural environment, with raised boardwalks separating visitors from the penguins to preserve them and the surrounding wildlife. It’s clear that the boardwalks are there to keep the tourists out as opposed to the penguins in. While we stuck to the path, they were waddling freely around both the beach and the car park. A couple even followed us down the road.
Boulders Beach was by far the busiest tourist site we visited on our day trips from Cape Town. The penguin appeal is definitely hard to resist! It was very endearing to see how much stronger than the penguins the waves were. They would attempt to waddle up the beach before being drawn back into the sea by the powerful tide. As African penguins, they were quite small, and their fluffy little chicks were smaller and more adorable still. I could have stood watching them for hours.
Stellenbosch
Approx. 45 minutes by car from central Cape Town
Situated in the Cape Winelands, the little university city of Stellenbosch is surrounded by vineyards. The area is famous for its wines: in the late 17th century, Huguenot refugees fled France and brought the art of wine-making with them to Stellenbosch. With its streets lined with oaks, it felt quite European to me—thanks, I’m sure, to the European colonisers that settled there.
Despite its proximity to Cape Town, I stayed two nights in Stellenbosch. It had a slower pace than Cape Town, but as a university town there was still lots going on. Beautiful markets were spread out on the village green, and the streets were full of cafes, restaurants, shops and galleries. Stellenbosch’s brunch spots selling avocado on toast and its street markets selling wooden carvings and bead art were a winning combination. I felt as though someone had picked up my local high street and placed it down in South Africa.
As Stellenbosch is surrounded by mountains and nature reserves, there are a lot of hikes that can be done from the city. However, we chose to focus on the wine. We joined a tour that took us around some of the vineyards of the Cape Winelands. I drank a lot of wine, but I can’t say I learnt very much!
Seaside towns: Muizenberg Beach, St James, Kalk Bay & Simon’s Town
Approx. 30 minutes to 1 hour by car from central Cape Town
We visited a few of the Cape Peninsula’s seaside towns on our way down to Cape Point. Muizenberg Beach enticed me the most; I wanted to photograph its infamous colourful beach houses. In reality, they were fairly dilapidated so posing on them was a bit of a hazard. Add to this that we must have chosen the breeziest day of the year to visit . . . the wind blowing the sand against my face and exposed arms and legs felt like shards of glass on my skin. Perhaps the colourful beach houses of St James would have been a better bet!
Continuing down the coast of False Bay, we stopped for lunch in Simon’s Town, a historic naval port. Though it was sunny, we ate our fish and chips inside. Every few minutes the wind would hurl a wave over the harbour wall. I watched as a few tourists got soaked and, having learnt my lesson from the glass-like sand, opted to stay indoors. However, the perilous waves didn’t bother the harbour’s seals as they bobbed around amidst the moored boats. It was almost worth the fear of getting drenched to watch them play.
Cape Peninsula: Cape of Good Hope & Cape Point
Approx. 90 minutes by car from central Cape Town
Sharing the tip of the Cape Peninsula, the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point mark the most south-westerly point of Africa. Formerly called the Cape of Storms, the Cape once indicated a milestone for ships on their trade routes. Unsurprisingly, it was renamed to the far less ominous Cape of Good Hope, and is still an important landmark to sailors. As I gazed out across thousands of miles of turbulent ocean, this wasn’t hard to imagine.
From Cape Point’s lighthouse, which sits high up on the cliff, I could see straight down the narrow headland and off the end of the continent. Built into the side of the rock there were lichen-covered lookouts points, accessed by flights of snaking stone steps. As the sun sank lower towards the horizon, I leant over the edge of one, feeling like I had stepped back in time. The wind that buffeted my face hadn’t seen land since South America, or even Antarctica.
Of all my day trips from Cape Town, this was my favourite. It felt a bit like being at the edge of the world—I suppose, in a way, we were.
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