We’re on a mission to get the cape peninsula done before we have to return the Polo at 5 and meet up with Drisdelle. Unfortunately, like driving the Garden Route, everything is so gorgeous that we’re compelled to stop at it all and take it in. I don’t think we have time to go the full peninsula so I suggest backtracking to Simon’s Town, taking the road that snakes up the mountain beside it, and cutting across to the other side of the cape. The Detectives agree and we’re almost instantly rewarded with this killer view back on Simon’s Town, with the beach, the naval yard, and North Peak in the distance.
We make our way up into the interior of the cape and pass through a couple of small towns, then back down to the water on the other side. Spot a secluded beach in Scarborough and get out to take a look.
How are there so many nice beaches in South Africa with nobody on them?
After Scarborough there is a stretch of road along the steep mountainside called the Misty Cliffs. Sounds like something Robert Plant / Tolkien would sing about. They live up to their name with a foggy haze nestled in the hillside shrubbery. I try to get a shot of the mistiness and the beach but we’re facing directly at the sun and it sucks. Oh and I just realized I was also facing directly at a surfer who was changing out of his wet suit this whole time. He looks… not the happiest. Ok, moving along then.
We pass by a lighthouse in Slangkop before getting to another place that seems more well developed called Kommetjie. We’re all giggling as we pull over for pics because My Dad Wrote a Porno is blaring in the car and without fail something absurdly inappropriate gets said every time we open the door.
After Kommetjie there is a rad looking tunnel right beside the water in a place called Chapman’s Peak. Ok, this drive is seriously up there as a scenery standout, I’m surprised more Cape Town tourism thingies don’t mention doing this.
We stop after the tunnel in Chapman’s Peak because the road curves back inland leaving this magnificent bay looking out at another killer beach and more mountain peaks. There’s a pathway that leads to some monument overlooking the whole shebang and it’s too pretty to pass up.
Out in the bay there is a fleet of boats that are racing each other or something. They all form a line in the shallows and then suddenly ball the jack out into the bay as fast as they can. Then they go back and do it again. We overhear a tour guide saying that they’re shooting an advertisement.
Does this place need an advertisement? I think this blows the PCH away.
Back on the homestretch into downtown Cape Town again and we’ve timed things perfectly. Maybe we can take a cable car up to Table Mountain? Nope, looks like the last one is at 5 and we still need to drop off the Polo. Drisdelle will be here soon too. Probably getting on drink time anyways. We gun the rest of this gorgeous drive eager to see more of what Cape Town has to offer tonight.
