Cape Point, Cape Town

As you come out from the funicular station and start walking up towards the light house, you will notice the watch station. It has been built here due to the fresh, clean air at Cape Point, by the South African Weather Bureau, in conjunction with the Fraunhofer Institute in Garmisch, Germany, maintains a research laboratory at Cape Point. The laboratory is one of the World Meteorological Organization’s 20 Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) stations.

At the top of the cliffs, you will find the lighthouse. The Cape of Storms is deserving of its reputation and has earned the respect of sailors since its first sighting by Bartholomeu Dias in 1488. Following one shipwreck after another, construction eventually began on Cape Point’s first lighthouse in 1857. It stood on Cape Point Peak, 238m above sea level, but due to its elevation, clouds and fog often obscured the lighthouse from shipping. Ships continued to founder upon the rocks of the Peninsula and a second lighthouse had to be built. The site for the second construction, which started in 1913, was much lower than the first lighthouse, at only 87m above sea level. This second light was first lit at sunset on March 11, 1919, and remains the most powerful on the South African coast. The original lighthouse still stands on the highest section of the peak and is now used as the central monitoring point for all lighthouses along the coast of South Africa.

The baboons at Cape Point can be quite troublesome. There are guards that chase them, but unfortunately we will always have some stupid silly person that think they are cute and want to feed them. Please do not feed the baboons, they become a nuisance and eventually even aggressive and then they have to be killed.

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We drove from Table Mountain and stopped off at Simons Town to see the penguins, has to be done! You can't drive through and not stop to see them in their natural habitat. The only time I've ever seen these creatures has been in Zoo's. After a drink and a bite to eat we ventured down to Cape Point. When we arrived we expected to see the baboons but none to be found. only on our return back.
We boarded the last Funicular that takes you up to the look out atop Cape Point. As it was the last one we were too late to get one back down, so we walked and it was all down hill, so it was not too bad!
There are proper walking trails for you to take and you can go as far as you want to. We wanted to get as far as we could go at Cape Point and the views were amazing.
We walked all the way back to our car to find lots of baboon familys having a walk about right where our car was! They were fine with us as we didn't make a fuss, we just quickly got into our car and then drove onto The Cape Of Good Hope.
Please be aware that the baboons can be dangerous, and are attracted by food. If they become conditioned to eat food from humans they may be destroyed.

The Main Attractions here are
The Visitor Centre
Hiking walks and picnic areas
Game, bird and whale watching
Shipwrecks
Flying Dutchman Funicular
Cape Point Lighthouse
Curio Shop
Two Oceans Restaurant
Accomodation
2 Day Hiking Trials

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You really can't go to Cape Town without going out to the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point. I took a tour for one visit then went again with a group of friends. I spent about 3 hours at the Cape doing several walks and enjoying the views. You can walk from one Cape to the other and it is a lovely way to really appreciate the views and see the differing ocean currents.

Check out the old lighthouse after riding the funicular to the top - great fun!

I loved the area, the views were fantastic and it was just an overall great time.

On the organised tour I went via Hout Bay, Noordhoek, Twelve Apostles False Bay and a few other places. It was worth the money to see so many places on one trip. There are many different tour companies and all seem to offer the same for the same price so pick which tour suits you - morning, afternoon, full day. (Expect to pay about 450-500R per person)

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Cape Point is the Southernmost point in Table Mountain National Park, the park that covers the cape peninsula south of Cape Town. Cape Point is actually further south than the better-known Cape of Good Hope, and is located a few miles to the northwest of Cape Point.

Cape Point ends at a rocky promontory, which has an observation deck and lighthouse at its summit. You can reach the observation platform by climbing up a long series of steps or by taking a short funicular ride to the top. At the top, you can get great views of the sea and my even see a whale or two. One thing that we enjoyed at the top was a pole with the distances to cities around the world. There are also a restaurant and gift shop at the top.

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The Cape of Good Hope is the Southwesternmost point on the African mainland. Cape Point and Cape Agulhas are further south, but are also further east than the Cape of Good Hope. There is not a lot to see when you reach the end of the road at the head of the cape, other than rocky surf and a big sign where veryone has their pictures taken. However, if you like geography and history, like we do, you must go there just to say that you've been there.

[photos to come]

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Cape Point is a promontory at the south-east corner of the Cape Peninsula.It is at the southwestern tip of the continent . This tip of the peninsula is not actually the southernmost point in Africa; that is Cape Agulhas, approximately 150 kilometres to the south-east.The area is rich in flora and fauna- "fynbos" covers a huge area. Cape baboons are quite cheeky in this area. Do not feed or encourage themin any way.

The highest peak has the old lighthouse on the top. A funicular railway runs from a car park to the north up to slightly below the level of the old lighthouse and a short flight of steps leads to a viewing platform at the base of the lighthouse. From the end of the railway a second path leads to the lower peak.

A newer lighthouse is at a lower elevation (closer to sea level), for two reasons: the old lighthouse could be seen 'too early' by ships rounding the point towards the east, causing them to approach too closely. Secondly, foggy conditions often prevail at the higher levels, making the older lighthouse invisible to shipping. On 18 April 1911, the Portuguese liner Lusitania was wrecked just south of Cape Point at Bellows Rock for precisely this reason, and a new lighthouse was constructed to prevent such sea tragedies.

The new lighthouse location cannot be seen from the West until ships are at a safe distance to the South. The light of the new Cape Point lighthouse is the most powerful on the South African coast, with a range of 63 kilometres and an intensity of 10 megacandelas in each flash.

Both the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point are situated within the Table Mountain National Park. . The park is unspoiled and undeveloped and is an important haven for seabirds.
The view from the various vantage points here is staggering. Look out over the sea- There is no visible line where the two oceans meet- but the enormous swell and strong current is obvious. Countless ships that have braved these oceans over the centuries have watery graves right here.