Good Hope and Boulders

We had a full day tour of the Cape Peninsula today, beginning with a visit to the colourful Bo-Kaap neighbourhood across the road from our hotel. It is the oldest surviving neighbourhood in Cape Town, dating from the 1760s when Malay workers (slaves) were bought in by the Dutch colonisers.

Travelling via Chapmans Peak Drive, a coastal road carved out of the mountain in the 1920s, we stopped at Houts Bay for an optional boat ride to see seals on a nearby island. Given the rain and rough seas, we chose the walk around the markets and dock area instead.

We continued south to Cape Point Nature Reserve, stopping for lunch before walking up to the old lighthouse. Built in 1860, it was decommssioned 40 years and dozens of shipwrecks too late, after its high altitude meant the lighthouse was in cloud many days of the year, and couldn't be seen when the sailors needed it most! A new lighthouse was built at a much lower altitude.

The drive continued via the Cape of Good Hope, the most South Westerly point of Africa, to Simon's Town and Boulders Beach.

The beach is a popular tourist spot because of a colony of endangered African penguins (previously known as Jackass penguins) that settled there in 1982. It is in a residential area, and a series of boardwalks allows the birds to be observed at close range as they wander freely. From just two breeding pairs in 1982, the penguin colony has grown to about 3000 birds in recent years.Read more