Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve

Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve

Part of the Table Mountain National Park that extends from Signal Hill in the north all the way to Cape Point in the south, the Cape of Good Hope is not the southern tip of Africa, despite lying at the south-west corner of the Cape Peninsula, just a little south of Cape Point on the south-east corner.

Cape Agulhas, roughly 150 kilometres southeast of here, holds this title instead. The Cape of Good Hope, however, remains a significant headland in the sense that from here one travels more eastward than southward, and it is not hard to imagine that rounding of the cape in 1488 was a major achievement.

This said, the Cape of Good Hope is one of two world-renowned landmarks within the Table Mountain National Park, the other is Table Mountain. These two familiar attractions are what draws thousands of visitors to Cape Town, not a new attribute to the Cape of Good Hope that functioned as something of a beacon for sailors for years and is still widely referred to as ‘The Cape’ by sea farers.

Table Mountain National Park boasts global recognition for its rich, varied and utterly unique fauna and flora. This is the only place on the planet where, essentially within the metropolitan area of Cape Town, one finds such a heady mix of rich bio-diversity and incredible beauty. Most visitors to Cape Town regard a trip to the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point (the tip of the Cape peninsula) as obligatory. This part of the park is home to an array of fynbos, over 250 species of birds, buck, baboons and Cape mountain zebra. There are numerous picnic spots, paths on which one can set off on foot or mountain bike, and tidal pools on almost isolated beaches.

If you are interested in hiking, see information about the 2 day hiking trail offered in the Reserve. The Cape of Good Hope Trail is a 34km circular route that starts and ends at the entrance gate to the Cape of Good Hope. See Cape of Good Hope Hiking Trail. Additional Reading:
For more info see our articles on the SA Travel News Blog:
• Cape Point Nature Reserve
• Cape Point Lighthouse photographs
• Hike the Hoerikwaggo Trail