THE CAPE PENINSULA

No-one visiting Southern Africa should miss spending some time exploring the Cape peninsula. The thin finger of land in the south-western most corner of Africa, with the city of Cape Town at its head. juts turbulently into the Atlantic. Towards Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, the land gets narrower until the great Indian and Atlantic Oceans combine into one vast southern ocean, with nothing beyond except Antarctica.

Sir Francis Drake described it, in 1578, as “The fairest cape in the whole circumference of the globe,” and so it is. The Table Mountain range meanders ruggedly down the centre of the peninsula, while long, white, soft, sandy beaches and little rocky coves, line the shores on both sides, offering magnificent vantage points for whale-watching in season. The mind-boggling array of flora and fauna is unique to the area while brightly coloured birdlife is prolific. There are numerous scenic drives. Each of these being so spectacular and different from each other that one requires an unhurried approach to appreciate their stunning beauty.

Amongst the folds and valleys of the Peninsula one can find renowned wine farms, historic homesteads and landmarks, game farms and reserves, great restaurants and stalls selling everything from carved wooden objects to traditional beadwork.

The Peninsula has the Atlantic coast on the west (including the City of Cape Town) and the False Bay coast on the east. While on the west coast the water is rather chilly at an icy 8°-13°c, it does have exquisite bays and a mediterranean lifestyle plus enviable ocean sunsets. Take advantage of this nightly spectacle, by taking a bottle of chilled Cape wine down to the rocks on the seashore then drive to the top of Signal Hill to view the panoramic lights of Cape Town.

False Bay has the advantage of having warmer water (13°-20°c), safer swimming beaches and a rail link to Cape Town. It also has quaint little villages, working fishing harbours and a colony of penguins. Surfers, dune boarders, golfers, and whale-watchers find this a virtual paradise

With nothing but water all around the peninsula, the weather can be a little unpredictable and one can experience a blend of the weather of all four seasons in one day, while every now and then the wind can whip itself up into a fury. Luckily when it is howling on one side it is normally quiet on the other, so there are always plenty of sheltered spots to be found.