Cape Peninsula National Park - Chapman's Peak Drive
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Chapman's Peak Drive
www.chapmanspeakdrive.co.za
He must have had a thing about building roads on impossible mountain sides but Sir Frederic de Waal, who was the first Administrator of the Cape Province (as opposed to Governor of the Cape Colony), decided to get Chapman’s Peak Drive built in 1915. De Waal Drive, which goes round Devil’s Peak, is named after him as is central Cape Town’s largest park, De Waal Park, which is teaming with dogs walking their owners every day.
The road is more than just a pretty view and drive: it’s a masterpiece of engineering and also a financial lifeline to the southern towns of the Cape Peninsula. When it had to be closed due to severe rock falls in 2000, it took three years to rebuild it again and result really is spectacular, as is the relief to business owners and residents of the Peninsula who had to make do with the Ou Kaapse Weg.
You can just do the drive to get from Noordhoek to Hout Bay if you like but it’s really worth trying to pull over somewhere (if you can find a space!) and just check out the view. If you’re lucky, you might even see whales from here, such is the altitude of the vantage point. If you’re sticking like a leech to the time frame of this tour, you’ll be just in time for the sunset and really, what better place to see it from. Be warned that this is a seriously steep mountain side and we do not suggest going to the edge of the walls or standing on them. People do fall often here because of the strong winds that gust around the coastline.