After we have sufficiently visited Cape Town as a city, we continue our tour of the Cape Peninsula. Did you miss our first blog about South Africa? You can do it here read back.
We (Cor and Grietje van NoFear Travel), travel with our Toyota Hilux 4×4 camper. The African continent is the Mecca for 'overlanding' with many challenging routes and beautiful destinations. The first African country we visited during our trip to South Africa is Morocco, followed by Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast en Ghana. After a stopover in the Netherlands, we continue our overland journey through Africa. We drove on Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo-Brazzaville, Angola, Zambia en Botswana.
We continue the second part of our tour South Africa. As you are used to from us, you now start watching the video again.
Lionshead
First we take a hike to Lionshead, a beautiful mountain peak that provides a beautiful overview of the city. The walk starts at about 300 meters and the top is at 669 meters. The first part of the climb is fairly easy, but the last part really requires hands and feet work over the rocks. Here and there a cable and some stairs help us with the steepest parts.
The denouement follows at the top, a satisfied feeling of climbing is also rewarded with a fantastic view of Cape Town and the coastline. The adjacent Table Mountain is even higher (over a thousand meters), but we will visit it later.
Chapman's Peak Drive
From Lionshead in a southerly direction you automatically drive via Chapman's Peakdrive. A road along the coast of about 10 kilometers with beautiful views over the coastline. This road, for which you have to pay a toll, is definitely worth it, but to be honest we found the Italian Amalfi Coast and Australian Great Ocean Road more challenging.
Cape of Good Hope
After Chapman's Peakdrive there is a stretch of plain that turns into the last southern mountains of the Cape Peninsula. An iconic and historic place. The place where the first European sailors landed. But also a place where ships had to change course to go around the corner. Due to the changing current and highly variable weather conditions, this proved to be too difficult for some ships and they became stranded here.
Around the corner is False Bay, breathtakingly beautiful. But a pitfall for the sailors of the time. They thought they could continue sailing “around the corner”, but unintentionally ended up in the large bay. That explains the name.
At the southernmost tip you can take various walking routes, including to the historic lighthouse. We accelerated a little more and walked down to sea level where we had lunch on the beach.
Penguins
From the southern tip we go up again along the east side. Spending the night here is quite a hassle. There are hardly any campsites. And if you find one, you must book in advance, or reserve at least 2 days in a row. That's not up our alley. You have to be careful with wild camping here. There are hardly any suitable places and crime is lurking.
Yet we find a spot in a large parking lot where they have even thought of toilets and braai areas. Until a privately hired security guard comes by to tell you that braaiing is not allowed. New rules...they forgot to remove the braai areas. But we do get permission to spend the night there. That is beautiful! A little further on there is a penguin colony. A boardwalk has been constructed so you can view the cutest creatures up close. How cute they are. African penguins are endemic here.
Mesa
Yes, the “must see” of South Africa. We wait a day to go up, it is cloudy. But the next day it is reasonably clear and we decide to treat ourselves…we take the cable car instead of the 600-meter-long hike.
It is a bustling tourist attraction, buses full of visitors board the cable car to enjoy views over Cape Town. Once we reach the top, we take a walk across the plateau. The nice thing is that you actually have beautiful views on all sides (nozw). You must see Table Mountain from above!
(Autumn in) Stellenbosch
After we have had a small repair carried out on the car, we leave the Cape Town conurbation.
Not that far, because a little further away is Stellenbosch. A large village that is best known for its many wineries. The village is located in the middle of an area where the conditions for wine growing are perfect. The wines are therefore shipped all over the world.
The center of the village is full of fun with nice shops, restaurants and terraces. What is striking are the large numbers of whites. Only on the outer edge of the village do we see a township.
The village is also famous for its world-famous and highly regarded university. The university attracts students from all parts of the world.
It's winter here. We would say autumn. Well below twenty degrees and a strong wind so that the leaves are blowing through the streets.
But it is still wonderful to relax on the terrace with a glass of wine and a patio warmer.
Stellenbosch, on the mountain bike
Not far from Stellenbosch is a fantastic mountain area with many MTB tracks, Jonkershoek. In the village itself we can rent mountain bikes...electric ones...that's for sure! Cycling, just like walking, gives you the feeling that you are closer to your surroundings, which is wonderful. Despite the electric drive, it is still quite a flight of stairs over the rocky paths up the mountain. But the view becomes more and more beautiful. Just like skiing, there are four levels, green, blue, red and black. We choose the blue. Tired but satisfied, we arrive at the top part of the route which gives a beautiful view over Stellenbosch. Then going downhill seems easy, but it isn't. It's a matter of braking at the right time, not too hard, not too soft. We reach the valley unscathed, where we treat ourselves to coffee and a sandwich and the baboons frolic happily around us.
Franschhoek
A little further than Stellenbosch, in the same wine region, lies Franschhoek. At first glance it appears to be even neater, richer, whiter and more touristy than Stellenbosch. Among the many vineyards and luxury wineries, the tin roofs of a township reflect in the sun.
We take a walk to one of the higher peaks of the “Mont Rochelle Nature Reserve”, the Perdekop of 1575 m.
It is quite cloudy and we are walking in the fog. But not for a long time. We emerge above the clouds into a beautiful sunny mountain area. The views are stunning and we eat a sandwich on the Perdekop.
Hospitality, highest level
On our trips we are regularly invited to people's homes to eat, sleep or have a drink.
This has often been done by the local population in Morocco and West African countries. But (white) South Africa goes further. We are often approached about our camper in combination with the Dutch license plate. When we tell them that we have left the Netherlands and have been on the road for two years now, they look at you strangely and it takes a while before the ball drops. From then on the questions started flowing.
During the walk near Franschhoek we met a family who invited us to their farm, 80 kilometers away. You can't call it that crazy or they offered it to us. Eating, drinking, sleeping and showering in their guesthouse. And it was no problem to do some laundry. It was difficult for us to turn down Tjokkie and Dalene's invitation, even though we had planned a different direction of travel.
Upon arrival at their farm, for which we had to cross the beautiful Bainskloof Pass, the warmest welcome ever awaited us. Nothing was too much for Tjokkie and Dalene.
You wonder where the hospitality comes from. A large part can be explained by their enormous pride in their country. And furthermore, our origins and perhaps interest in our travel story count.
On arrival around lunchtime a delicious plate of food was ready with local ingredients, lovingly prepared by Dalene. We were surprised with a delicious bottle of red wine and at the end of the afternoon we went on a tour of the farm with the couple on the back of the “bakkie”. They talked extensively about their grape and peach cultivation.
But also about the fantastic nature at the back of the farm at the foot of mighty mountains.
And unfortunately about the copper theft that has been bothering them for weeks now. Thieves steal enormous lengths of copper cables from high-voltage pylons, leaving them regularly without power.
Tjokkie and Dalene, we'll never forget you! Thank you!
Cape Agulhas (Tuesday May 28, 2024)
The journey continues to the southernmost tip of the continent. The place itself is no more special than the rest of the beautiful south coast. Still, it's a memorable moment. About 2 years ago we were still on the North Cape and we have now visited more than 30 countries in between. Of course we take the necessary photos.
But the place is also special for another reason. Officially this is where the division between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans lies.
To spice things up, a concrete monument with a map of Africa has been made. The whole thing lies on the ground with relief and all. From north to south it measures 18 meters and you can walk on it.
We are happy to do that. Fantastic to see our travel experiences on the enormous map. The mountains and rivers are beautifully depicted and we are already looking ahead to going along the east side towards the Middle East.
Bontebok NP
More inland near Swellendam is South Africa's smallest national park. Small but super nice, so to speak.
The main reason for the creation of the park is the bontebok. In 1931 - when the park was founded - there were only 17 copies left. This number has now risen again to around 200. Very special, such an animal that is found nowhere else in the world. The park is very neatly laid out with well-maintained roads and a truly perfect campsite! The park is crossed by the Breede River and there is always some type of fynbos in bloom. Well worth a visit.
Cango caves, Oudtshoorn
The road to the Cango greats near Oudtshoorn (R62) is really great. We enjoy every meter. It is all very varied with high mountains, lighter hills, many types of vegetation and some agriculture. We pass several mountain passes, including the Tradouwpass, where we of course make a few photo stops.
And then we visit the famous Cango caves. We had never heard of it and it certainly wasn't on our to-do list. But after a few enthusiastic stories and a look at a brochure, we decided to take a look. Well, that was worth it. Incredible! Upon arrival at the complex you will immediately see from the large bus parking lot that it is a huge tourist attraction. Rightly so! We were lucky to be in a group of 8 and therefore very understandable. A very friendly guide led us through the different rooms with stalactites (hanging from a ceiling) and stalagmites (standing on the ground).
He talked about its origins about 800.000 years ago and its former habitation by the San, the bushmen of the past.
The nice thing about the tour is that it is quite adventurous. You have to go through very narrow corridors, often with hands and feet, to get to the next room. Due to an uncooperative leg, Cor had to skip one of the rooms.
Ostriches
The region around Oudtshoorn is known for its many ostrich farms. Originally, ostriches were bred for meat and leather. But in addition, a whole tourist branch has been added. Nowadays you can go on a real safari on an ostrich farm, stand on an egg or take a ride on the back of a flightless bird. The latter is quite a discussion because the animals are not built to carry people. We refrain from visiting such a farm, but take some pictures of the animals and have lunch with an ostrich steak in a restaurant.
Meerkats (Meerkats)
In Oudtshoorn you can book a tour where you can spot meerkats in the morning at sunrise. The animals emerge - when it gets light - from their tunnel system, which is often built in a hill.
When they carefully emerge from their den, they first carefully peer around to check the area for enemies.
Gradually more come out of their holes until there are all thirteen. A beautiful sight! The animals completely ignore the presence of people, are not fed and live in a completely natural environment. An experience that you should not miss if you are near Oudtshoorn.
From Oudtshoorn we take the Swartberg Pass towards Karoo NP. The weather has changed in recent days. The temperature barely rises above 15 degrees, it is gray and sometimes rain falls from the thick clouds. Autumn in South Africa. But we remain undeterred and drive up the Swartbergs Pass. Soon we are driving in the middle of fog/clouds, which sometimes also includes some precipitation.
Swartberg Pass
Unfortunately there is nothing to see at the top, only gray.
We descend again via the ribbed gravel road and suddenly it clears up... what a revelation. We are presented with a mountain landscape to die for. Beautiful views and rock formations. The lines/plates in the rocks run straight through each other. Wow, we descend further and enter an incredibly beautiful gorge that reminds us of the Moroccan Todra Gorge.
Karoo NP
We drive a little more to the northeast and visit the Karoo National Park near Beaufort West. As in the many SAN National Parks, everything is perfectly organised. We spend the night (mandatory) at the associated campsite for the equivalent of around 17 euros. We think that is more than reasonable, given the extensive facilities and their maintenance.
Near the reception there is a fossil park, where a number of finds from the area have been brought together. We are once again amazed by the history of the earth and the little temporary beings that we are.
The park itself is breathtaking, we spotted many animals, including gemsbok, springbok, ibex, kudu, zebra and (wild) ostriches.
But the highlight is a huge black eagle flying back and forth to its nest in the valley. Wow, what a wingspan.
We choose a self-drive 4×4 route, which is not too technical. It is low season and so there are few people, but we would not be surprised if it still feels quiet and relaxed during busier times. We give the park a high score - despite the absence of cats.
We are now extremely impressed with South Africa. We drive back to the south coast where our adventures continue. We write about it in the third blog about South Africa.
