1 Cape Point

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
5 Reasons Why Cape Point is

one of Nature's Great Places
The Cape Peninsula reaches out say, haunted. It is a birder's para-

like an elongated claw at the bot- dise and a botanist's Holy Grail. It
tom of the mighty beast that is can seem absolutely fascinating
Africa. Surrounded by vast to those with a keen eye, or to
oceans, gale-force winds, ancient the less curious, simply a finger
mountains and fire-dependent of land jutting out into the ocean
plants, could there be a place 60 km from Cape Town. Ulti-
that is more wildly elemental than mately, it is one of nature's most
SOUTH AFRICA'S Cape Point? beautiful places and below are
the 5 reasons why.
A Natural World Heritage Site,
Cape Point is historic and, some
AIR
The windiest place in South Africa
When we visit Cape Point it is a
typically blustery day.
Weather at the end of the
earth is seldom agreeable.
Clouds roll off the point like
steam from a speeding loco-
motive, and the tip of our con-
tinent looks like a train at-
tempting to drag us south.
The wind feels like it comes

from the south pole, strong
and crisp. It certainly is pure
with some of the cleanest air in
all of AFRICA according to the local laboratories, which use Cape Point as a
base to measure the air that has passed over the southern ATLANTIC
Ocean.
Cape Point is the windiest place in SOUTH AFRICA and experiences only
2% of all hours in the year with calm conditions. The average wind
speed is 25 km/h with 42% of the wind speeds greater than 30 km/h.
(Adapted from: https://blog.rhinoafrica.com/ 2016/03/31/5-reasons-cape-point-great/)

EARTH
The most south-western point of the
African continent
The signboard announces the Cape of Good Hope as, 'The most south-
western point of the African continent'. The most southern point belongs
to a near neighbour, Cape Agulhas, 150 km to the east.
It was initially called the Cape of Storms due to the devastating toll it took
on the Portuguese explorers who attempted to go around the Cape in the
1600s and 1700s. Eventually, however, it came to be seen in a different
light. After the inhospitable Skeleton Coast of endless dunes and no water
sources in NAMIBIA, Cape Point became a symbol of hope. There was
fresh water here and vegetables too – vital resources for the sailors. The
chances of getting to India, their final destination, were now greatly im-
proved. And so, the Portuguese king renamed it Cabo da Boa Esperança,
the Cape of Good Hope.
FIRE
The indigenous fynbos is dependent on fire
for its existence and success
For a botanist, Cape Point is a rich playground. With 1 080 species, the re-
serve boasts one of the highest concentrations of plant species for similar
sized areas in the world. The tiny area has more plant varieties than all of
Britain.
With fynbos, the indigenous flora, fire is essential for maintaining the eco-
system and requires regular burning. Fynbos thrives on infertile soils and
fire is the mechanism that recycles precious nutrients from old moribund
growth into the soil. Fires are more common in fynbos than in any
other heathlands in the world.
If you want to appreciate these plants, one of just six floral kingdoms in
the world, the delight is in the details. A signboard at Cape Point says,
'Look closely to appreciate the perfection of the tiny flowers'.
Interesting fact according to Question/Vraag 1.5: Many popular

garden plants such as lilies, freesias, irises and geraniums, have their ori-
gins in fynbos. 14 plants are endemic – this means that they are found at
Cape Point and nowhere else in the world.

LIFE
Animals
Cape Point is home to an array of different animals but due to the vegeta-
tion, there are not large herds. Mongooses, chacma baboons, porcupines,
bontebok, zebra, eland, ostrich, grysbok, leopard tortoises, chameleons,
lizards, and snakes such as boomslangs, Cape cobras, puff adders can all
be found here.
Birds
Spectacular concentrations of small shoaling fish make Cape Point one of

the best areas in the world to observe ocean birds. Seafaring birds spotted
at Cape Point are albatrosses, gannets, petrels, gulls, cormorants and
oystercatchers.
Birds of prey include the African goshawk, black eagle, rock kestrels and
owls but most exciting of all is the peregrine falcon. The peregrine falcon
is the fastest bird in the world and can reach speeds up to a whopping 280
km/h when striking its prey.
Epic Sea-life
The piercing, ice-blue water of Cape Point looks like it comes straight from
the Antarctic, and if you go for a dip it can feel like it too. These waters
contain some of the world's great fish and mammals. Stingrays, dolphins
and seals often provide food for everyone's favourite villain of the sea, the
great white shark, which is common in this part of the world and the
surrounding waters provide the stage for its famous breaching. Orcas,
humpback whales and southern right whales also visit the surrounding
bays.
WATER
Two oceans
Cape Point is famed as the meeting
point of two oceans, the Atlantic and
the Indian Oceans. The restaurant at
Cape Point is even called Two Oceans,
but this is not technically correct. The
currents of the two oceans meet at
the point where the warm water Agul-
has current meets the cold water
Benguela current and turns back on
itself – a point that fluctuates between
Cape Agulhas and Cape Point.

INFORMATION FOR VISITORS

Activities
Cape Point makes for a great day trip from Cape Town, as the hordes of
tourists attest to. So, arrive early to allow for easy access and limited
waiting. The lighthouses and cliff faces are not the only attraction and a
wide range of activities are on offer. You can picnic, hike, mountain bike,
surf, kitesurf and even go on overnight hikes. A well-kept secret is that
Cape Point has some of Cape Town's best beaches and it's a great idea to
visit these beaches during the busier summer months.
Opening Times
07:30 – 18:00 Summer (October – March)
08:00 – 17:00 Winter (April – September)
Flying Dutchman Funicular
This takes visitors from the parking lot up to the lighthouse for a view of
the bay and peninsula. Alternatively, visitors can walk up the small hill
which will take about twenty minutes. It is named after the legendary
ghost ship which is said to lurk in the nearby waters.
Funicular Tickets
Description Adults
Children
*Pensioners
Return TicketR85 R45
R50
One-way Ticket R70 R35
*Pensioners: 60+ must show identification to receive pensioner rate.


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CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

5 Reasons Why Cape Point is

The Cape Peninsula reaches out say, haunted. It is a birder's para-

The wind feels like it comes

(Adapted from: https://blog.rhinoafrica.com/ 2016/03/31/5-reasons-cape-point-great/)

Interesting fact according to Question/Vraag 1.5: Many popular

(Adapted from: https://blog.rhinoafrica.com/ 2016/03/31/5-reasons-cape-point-great/)

Spectacular concentrations of small shoaling fish make Cape Point one of

(Adapted from: https://blog.rhinoafrica.com/ 2016/03/31/5-reasons-cape-point-great/)

INFORMATION FOR VISITORS

07:30 – 18:00 Summer (October – March)

08:00 – 17:00 Winter (April – September)

Flying Dutchman Funicular

*Pensioners: 60+ must show identification to receive pensioner rate.

(Adapted from: https://blog.rhinoafrica.com/ 2016/03/31/5-reasons-cape-point-great/)

(Adapted from: https://blog.rhinoafrica.com/ 2016/03/31/5-reasons-cape-point-great/)

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