Cape Town, South Africa: A Secret Gem

WARNING** Before reading this know that you are agreeing to not share with anyone else how great this place is… Just kidding. But seriously, I’m skeptical to write about Cape Town. After a few days of being here I was shocked that it isn’t packed with tourists from the Western countries. Think of Hawaii but cut the cost in a quarter. This place is seriously a secret gem.

The center of the city sits an enormous mountain. The mountain is surrounded by beautiful, white sandy beaches. African wine country is a short hop away. And Cape Town is rated one of the most friendly places in the world- and it’s very easy to see why. What more could you want?

From everywhere in the area you can see Table Top Mountain in the background. This beautiful mountain gets its name from its flat top that looks like a table.

You can take one of many paths to hike to the top, or you can take the cable car both up and down to get the same amazing views. We opted to hike the Platteklip Gorge Trail which is the most popular.

It took us 2 hours and 40 minutes with plenty of stops for pictures. The views on top of this 1,090 meter high mountain were amazing!

The mountain is called Table Top because it is flat like a table. When the clouds sit on top it looks like a table cloth has been placed on the table.

There was also some great wildlife to see along the way. We were able to see some of the mountain goats that settled here in the 1930’s after a few of them escaped from the zoo.

There are many beach options in Cape Town. Camps Bay is rated one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

The enormous waves made it dangerous to swim, but the soft sand with paragliders soaring overhead from the nearby mountains kept us plenty distracted.

The water front has a beautiful walk/run/bike path. There are wide open parks with dogs and children playing. Cute beach restaurants and bars. Food truck stands with picnic tables to take a break.

And this amazing pool we happened to come across on our walk!

This boardwalk also is the perfect spot to see some amazing sunsets over the ocean.

I would recommend renting a car for part of your stay in Cape Town. There are plenty of things to see only an hour or so away from the city. There are tours available- but we found it very easy and cost effective to simply drive ourselves.

We took a day trip to Cape Point which is a peninsula with small towns and beaches along the way.

Our first stop on the way was Boulder Beach. This beach is named after the rocks that line the water, but is mostly known for the penguins!

These animals have naturally made a home here. There were hundreds of them all over the park. We loved watching them swim and fish for the crying penguin babies.

Seal Island is another well known attraction on this route. We did not make it out to the island, but the name enough reminded us of all the great white sharks nearby.

Although you could not see them from the road, there are many shipwrecks marked in the area. Many ships have wrecked nearby on this peninsula due to rocks or shallow waters.

We continued our drive through many small towns on our way to Cape Point. This is the point where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean. There are two lighthouses situated on the end of the peninsula.

It was extremely windy when we went, likely caused by the aggressive meeting of the oceans.

We had a lot of fun keeping an eye out for wildlife while we were driving. Baboons live all over this peninsula. Apparently they can be pretty aggressive if they think you have food.

While leaving the point, we drove on the opposite side of the peninsula. We stopped at Scarborough Beach, mainly for its name, but were amazed to find a reasonably isolated, beautiful, huge beach!

There were surfers, dogs, and a few people around. But other than that this place was very quiet and relaxing. We really wished we had brought a picnic or at least our bathing suits. Next time…

We paid a few extra dollars to drive on the coast and follow the road to Chapman’s Peak– and it was definitely worth it! The drive got the adrenaline going with the massive cliffs nearby.

But the views were absolutely priceless.

 

Along the way we got to see the Twelve Apostles which are several large mountains in a row.

Another reason to get a car is to explore all the wineries! Definitely make sure someone is fine with driving though, because the “tasting pours” are very hefty.

We stopped at Klein’s Zalze and did a 5 sample tasting that cost only $1.66. Each sample was AT LEAST a half glass of wine. Needless to say we knew we weren’t going to make it to all the wineries we had planned on.

One of the most popular wineries in South Africa is Waterford Estates.

There was a chocolate and wine pairing offered here. My favorite was the salted milk chocolate paired with the Cabernet Sauvignon. Of course we decided we needed a bottle of this wine and bar of chocolate to go.

The Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens were another attraction right outside the city. We took an Uber here which was an incredibly cheap $6 for a 35 minutes ride.

There was an elevated walkway that gives you a great view of Table Top mountain.

We stayed right near V&A Waterfront which is an old harbor used by the English since the 1800’s. It appears to be newly redone with an large mall, a ferris wheel, and plenty of restaurants geared towards tourists.

This area felt perfectly safe to walk around. It is also the port where you leave to visit Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner for 18 of his 27 year sentence. This is before he went on to become the President of South Africa.

If you’ve made it to the end then you know all the secrets about how amazing this place is. Now that you know, you should move it to the top of your travel list before everyone else finds out!