|
Destination:
HOUT BAY, South Africa
|
 |
Chapman's Peak drive will
leave you breathless
 This recent
photo shows Hout Bay, South Africa, on the coastal highway
south of Capetown. The highway twists and turns over some
of the world's most spectacular scenery, including Chapman's
Peak where locals and tourists gather to watch stunning
sunsets. |
There is something
exquisitely beautiful about mountain meeting ocean.
Add to
those surroundings a sunset sinking into the horizon, creating a
ripple of pink hues across the sky and a golden path reaching across
the ocean.
Now sit back and enjoy.
Sound hyperbolic?
Luckily a place like this exists. It's called Chapman's Peak drive.
Locals take picnic suppers and bottles of wine to be enjoyed
as they watch the sun set from here. Other South Africans just park
their cars in the pullouts from the road to marvel at the scene for
a few minutes before heading home.
On a continent of
majestic sunsets, this location rates up there as one of the best
spots to witness the splendour of nature.
The 10-kilometre
drive from Hout Bay to Noordhoek is billed as one of the world's
most spectacular drives and it does not disappoint. Australia's
Great Ocean Road -- a haven for filming car commercials -- is aptly
named, but it is topped by this route.
The whole coastal
road south of Cape Town to the Cape of Good Hope peninsula, the most
southwesterly point in Africa, is breathtaking, but the Chapman's
Peak section is particularly beautiful.
The cliff-side drive
climbs to 600 metres above the pounding surf of the ocean. It twists
and turns to the peak where there are fantastic views over Chapman's
Bay and back into Hout Bay. Drive a little farther south around the
peak and the vista opens on to Noordhoek beach, a five-kilometre
stretch of white sand where it's possible to walk and see only a
handful of people, even on nice days.
So treacherous was the
path along the mountain edges when road construction started in
1915, it took seven years to compete. Grootkop is the highest peak
along the drive, at 851 metres.
The drive has plenty of
places to pull over, some with picnic facilities. If a more
reclusive spot is needed, there's a hiking trial off the road in to
the mountains.
While Chapman's Peak drive is the best known
route in the area, tourists with a car should really start in Cape
Town and drive all the way south to Cape of Good Hope. It's an easy
day's drive with plenty of stops along the way -- but take your
time. Three to five days could be easily spent in this area.
False Bay on the east side of the peninsula also has
stretches of superb driving where baboons can be spotted on the side
of the road preening each other. At the Boulders, a colony of cute
jackass penguins can be seen on the beaches.
BOTTOM LINE:
WHERE: Drive the 10-kilometres
from Hout Bay to Noordhoek. Then go back to find a favourite spot
and pull over to enjoy the view and hear the pounding waves on the
rocks below.
HIGHLIGHT: See a sunset. If it takes
four days then come here every night until you get a good one.
Sometimes clouds wreck the view, but be patient. It will pay off.
PARKING: Get to a good parking spot early. These
spots fill up quickly before sunset on a clear day.
BRING: Binoculars and a sense of humility.
www.summer
holiday.info
www.winter holiday.us
