Once a nature reserve on its own, this section of
Table Mountain National Park covers more than 19,000 acres. Much of the
park consists of rolling hills covered with fynbos and laced with miles of
walking trails, for which maps are available at the park entrance. It also
has beautiful deserted beaches. Eland, baboon, ostrich, and bontebok (a
colorful antelope that was hunted to near extinction in the early 20th
century) are among the animals that roam the park. A paved road runs 12˝
km (8 mi) to the tip of the peninsula, and a turnoff leads to the Cape of
Good Hope, a rocky cape that is the southwesternmost point of the
continent. A plaque marks the spot -- otherwise you would never know
you're standing on a site of such significance.
The opposite is true of Cape Point, a dramatic knife's edge of rock
that slices into the Atlantic. Looking out to sea from the viewing
platform, you feel you're at the tip of Africa, even though that honor
officially belongs to Cape Agulhas, about 160 km (100 mi) to the
southeast. From Cape Point the views of False Bay and the Hottentots
Holland Mountains are astonishing. The walk up to the viewing platform and
the old lighthouse is very steep; a funicular (R31 round-trip, R21
one-way) makes the run every three or four minutes. Take a jacket or
sweater -- the wind can take your breath away. It took six years, from
1913 to 1919, to build the old lighthouse, 816 feet above the high-water
mark. Considering how precipitous the path is, it's surprising it didn't
take a lot longer. On a clear day the old lighthouse was a great
navigational mark, but when the mists rolled in, it was useless, so a new
and much lower lighthouse (286 feet) was built at Dias Lookout Point. The
newer, revolving lighthouse, the most powerful on the South African coast,
emits a group of three flashes every 30 seconds. It has prevented a number
of ships from ending up on Bellows or Albatross Rock below. You can't go
into the lighthouses, but the views from their bases are spectacular.
Stark reminders of the ships that didn't make it are dotted around the
Cape. You'll see their rusty remains on some of the beaches. One of the
more famous wrecks is the Thomas T. Tucker, one of hundreds of
Liberty Ships produced by the United States to enable the Allies to move
vast amounts of supplies during World War II. It wasn't the U-boats
patrolling the coastline that did the ship in. Rather the fog closed in,
and on her maiden voyage in 1942, she ended up on Olifantsbos Point.
Fortunately, all on board were saved, but the wreck soon broke up in the
rough seas that pound the coast.
The park has some excellent land-based whale-watching spots. About
June-November, whales return to these waters to calve. You're most likely
to see the southern right whale in False Bay, but the occasional humpback
and Bryde's whale also shows up. When the water is calm, you may even be
lucky enough to see a school of dolphins looping their way past. The
Rooikrans parking lot is good for whale-watching, but there are any number
of lookout points. It's just a matter of driving around until you see the
characteristic spray or a shiny black fluke.
The mast you see on the western slopes of Cape Point near the
lighthouse belongs to the Global Atmosphere Watch Station (GAW). The South
African Weather Bureau, together with the Fraunhofer Institute in
Garmisch, Germany, maintains a research laboratory here to monitor
long-term changes in the chemistry of the earth's atmosphere, which may
impact climate. This is one of 20 GAWs throughout the world, chosen
because the air at Cape Point is considered particularly pure most of the
time.
A large sit-down restaurant has better views than food (but that is
saying a lot), and a kiosk sells snacks. There are three gift shops and an
Internet café, where you can send a photo of yourself with Cape Point in
the distance to the folks back home. During peak season
(December-January), visit Cape Point as early in the day as you can;
otherwise you'll be swamped by horrendous numbers of tour buses and their
occupants. Fun alternatives include an escorted bike trip to the point and
an overnight hike with comfortable basic accommodations and incredible
views, which is booked through South African National Parks. Be wary of
baboons in the parking lot; they have been known to steal food and can be
dangerous if provoked. Unfortunately the indigenous chacma baboons are
increasingly under threat, and in 2004 it was estimated that only 125 (98
females and 27 males in 10 troops) remain in the Cape Peninsula. Many
baboons have been shot for raiding homes and stealing food. Baboon-feeding
tourists only exacerbate this serious situation.
