Five Reasons to Visit the Western Cape in South Africa

The Western Cape surrounding Cape Town in South Africa, the southernmost region of the entire African continent, is an amazing destination. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting this area three times and have some great memories of scenic clifftop walks, watching penguins waddling on beautiful beaches, eating wonderful food, washed down with world-class wines, and learning about the difficult history of South Africa. Here my top five reasons why you should consider a trip to the Western Cape.

• 1. Stunning Scenery

The highlight of the Western Cape is Cape Town. The city is surrounded on one side by mountains, including the iconic Table Mountain, and on the other side by the blue South Atlantic Ocean. When the sun comes out, it’s an astonishing sight and surely the most beautiful setting of any major city in the world.

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Beyond the city, the scenery continues to astound. Try a trip down the Cape Peninsula, through the Cape Winelands or along the Garden Route to see all that the region has to offer. My personal favourite, though, is taking long walks along the Cliff Path in Hermanus, which is located along Walker Bay on the south coast of the Western Cape, about 115 km southeast of Cape Town. The cliff path twists and turns, up and down, along the cliffs with wonderful views over Walker Bay. On a good day, the sea is unbelievably blue and there are so many flowers blooming, adding beautiful dashes of colour along the path.

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• 2. Beautiful Beaches

The Western Cape has some amazing beaches: from Cape Town in the east to Plettenberg bay in the west. Within Cape Town itself, the most scenic and iconic has to be Camps Bay Beach. It’s a busy, popular beach, with lots of nearby hotels and restaurants. Part of Table Mountain, the ‘Twelve Apostles’ provide a scenic backdrop overlooking Camps Bay Beach, while the soft, golden sand can’t be bettered. A good tip, for a quieter visit, is to take an early evening stroll along the beach before a delicious dinner at one of the many restaurants just across the road. I’ll always remember my tasty prawns and salmon eaten on the outside patio of Blues restaurant, with a great view over the beach and sea beyond as the sun set.

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Another fond memory is a little further afield: Grotto Beach in Hermanus. This can be a perfect destination at the end of a walk along the Cliff Path (featured above). Not only is it a perfect Blue Flag beach with golden soft sand, crashing waves and deep blue sea, but behind the sand dunes is an inland lagoon which is peaceful and beautiful. It’s like another world here and you can relax and watch the nearby birdlife. It’s  one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.

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• 3. Drinking Wine in the Cape Winelands

The Cape Winelands, located less than an hour’s drive from Cape Town, is the largest wine-producing region in South Africa. With its Mediterranean climate, it produces some wonderful wines, including some of my favourite Shiraz and Cabernet’s. The area is also incredibly scenic, making a wine tour around the local vineyards a visual, as well as  edible, treat. The main towns of Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek make great bases. In 2017, I stayed for three nights in Franschhoek, at the brilliant Akademie Street Guesthouse, and loved the small town. It’s a great base for driving out to nearby wineries, including the famous Boschendal and also Babylonstoren, an old Cape Dutch Farm with intriguing gardens, or you can jump on the convenient Wine Tram and hop off at a selection of different wineries. The highlight of my day on the Wine Tram was a lunch stop at Dieu Donne where I enjoyed a lovely lunch at Roca restaurant. Indeed, the food in Franschhoek was a real travel highlight. My dinner at Ryan’s Kitchen still rates as my favourite meal ever.   

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If you don’t have the time to stay a few nights in Franschhoek or Stellenbosch, you can still easily visit some local wineries in the Western Cape, either by joining a one day tour from Cape Town (I really enjoyed my day with the company ‘Africa Story’) or simply by  jumping on City Sightseeing’s brilliant Hop-On-Hop-Off Blue Route Bus Tour in Cape Town which will take you to a few different wineries in the Constantia Region, including Groot Constantia which is the oldest wine estate in South Africa. As an added bonus, this HOHO bus tour will also take you to the beautiful Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens, a must see on any visit to Cape Town.

• 4. Exploring the History of South Africa

Cape Town is an ideal place to learn more about the history of South Africa. A visit to the Castle of Good Hope is great for learning more about the early colonial settlement here. Try to arrive in time for the 10am key ceremony and signal gun firing, and don’t leave without walking all the way around the castle on the upper level where there are great views over the city.

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Nearby is the fantastic District 6 museum where you can learn about a more recent and tragic period of history. The museum does a very good job of explaining the compulsory removal of citizens from the infamous District 6 through individual stories, recollections, photos and artefacts. The Iziko Slave Lodge is also worth a visit to learn about another, even more, unjust treatment of people. Here you will find a detailed exploration of the history of slavery in the Cape. Finally, a must-see for all visitors to Cape Town is a tour of Robben Island which was used as a political prison during apartheid and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Most famously, Nelson Mandela was imprisoned here for 18 years and the tour of the prison includes a visit to his tiny cell. A trip to Robben Island includes a scenic boat ride to the island, a guided bus tour to the historical sites around the Island and a tour of the prison by tour guides who were formerly political prisoners themselves.

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• 5. Watching Wildlife

The Western Cape isn’t the part of South Africa that you picture in your mind’s eye when thinking of African wildlife (although it’s only a day’s drive or an hour’s flight to the Eastern Cape and it’s range of private wildlife reserves and the Addo Elephant National Park, making a short two day safari an easy add-on to your trip). In the Western Cape, there is still wildlife to see, however, including great opportunities to see penguins. There are two colonies of African penguins near Cape Town: one at Boulders Beach near Simon’s Town on the Cape Peninsula and the other at Stony Point in Betty’s Bay. Both provide the chance to watch the characterful penguins strike their poses and waddle around scenic backdrops.

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In addition to penguins, there’s a good chance of also seeing Southern right whales (often spottable right from the shore in Hermanus or around False Bay in Cape Town), bontebok (a type of antelope), ostriches and baboons without too much effort. Perhaps the easiest wildlife spot of all are the ubiquitous ‘Dassies’, otherwise known as rock hyrax, which can be seen up on Table Mountain and along the cliff path in Hermanus.

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So, that’s five good reasons to visit the Western Cape and there’s many more, such as the amazing food, wonderful guest house accommodations, beautiful gardens and fascinating culture. Plus it’s a photographer’s dream!

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