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One of the most exciting things for me to see while in Cape Town (besides the penguins) was what is commonly known as the southwesternmost point of the African continent, the Cape of Good Hope.
Fun fact: Cape Agulhas is the southernmost point of Africa.
Andreas and I headed down south in our rental car, following a mixture of maps & GPS. We easily found the Cape of Good Hope via Nordhoek. Honestly, neither of us researched what to expect but both of us knew we wanted to do a road trip down to this point. Sometimes spontaneity is great!
It turns out the Cape of Good Hope is a National Park and a major tourist attraction! When we reached the entrance, a line of cars and tour buses stretched as far as the eye could see. This seemed ridiculous to us since everything around us was beautiful. Why bother fencing off just one area?
We immediately turned around and kept driving down the road. Neither of us like the touristy places, even if a lot of them are on our lists of things to see when we are traveling. Seeing that long line of cars and buses was an immediate warning sign to us. Even if it was really wonderful we did not want to wade through all the crowds to only half enjoy the view!
We kept driving down the road a bit further. Like we often do in our road trips, we kept an eye out for a good lookout point where we could eat the lunch we’d bought at a great local food spot, Yummy Food Cafe, in Kommetjie. We found the perfect spot just around a bend away from the Cape of Good Hope entrance. There were only a few other cars parked there with a beautiful view of the ocean and cliffs. It was a wonderful place to sit on the edge of the cliffs and eat our BBQ (braai). Highly recommendable!
If you are okay with wading through the crowds I would suggest you visit the cape early in the morning before the buses arrive. Also, try going on a weekday versus the weekend. We were there in the early afternoon on a Saturday which is the least ideal time, but we were honestly extremely happy with finding a quiet spot to ourselves with a wonderful view.
I’m always looking for places to avoid the crowds! Have you ever ditched a famous view or location and found a better alternative? Tell me about it in the comments below and share your experiences going “off piste!”
These are very helpful travel tips. I’ve always wanted to visit South Africa, and I try to avoid touristy spots. Your photos are gorgeous, and I love the graphic you created for this article.
I hope that this inspires you to visit! Cape Town is really a lovely place. And thank you so much for the photography compliments! The beauty of the area really made it easy to take great photos!
I always find the best spots while getting lost. I want to see the tour stuff too, I mean there is a reason they are famous 🙂 But it is the best feeling when you give up on one opportunity just to get another which is much better or just as good 🙂
South Africa is on my long list of desired places to visit. It just seems so lovely to experience. I’m with you on the touristy areas, I just can’t enjoy that type of outing. It’s great when you can find an alternative to enjoy / appreciate when the intended plan doesn’t work out.
Cape Town and the area around it was definitely a lovely place to visit. I’m really glad we were able to see the Cape of Good Hope without experiencing the tourists!