The Cape Peninsula forms part of the Cape Floral Kingdom, and more indigenous plant species per square meter are found here than anywhere else on earth. Both coastlines of the Peninsula have more than a hundred beaches with dazzling white sands to choose from, and this tour offers magnificent viewpoints to some of them.
On this round-trip of the Peninsula, we visit the following highlights; Cape Point where the two oceans meet, the fynbos rich Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, a boat trip to Seal Island (optional), a visit to Boulders Beach where we can see penguins in their natural habitat, Muizenberg with its magnificent thirty five-kilometer stretch of beaches, Simon's Town where the South African Navy is based.
Above the cove to the west of the Old Harbour at Hermanus there is a plaque marking the spring which attracted the first permanent resident, Hermanus Pieters, to what is now one of the most fashionable seaside and retirement resorts on the Cape coast. Pieters, a Hollander who came to the Cape early in the nineteenth century, was an itinerant teacher of Caledon farmers' children. He also had sheep and it was in moving them to fresh pastures that he came upon the enchanting bay-subsequently named after a Royal Naval officer called Walker - on which Hermanus was eventually established. The spring came to be known as Hermanuspietersfontein, a name which was also applied to the early settlement but shortened to Hermanus when municipal status was accorded in 1904.
This tour is designed to show a few of the most spectacular mountain passes and views of the Western Cape in South Africa. We travel through the areas where the world renowned Cape apples, South African dried fruit, the finest export grapes, and a variety of wines are produced. The town of Paarl serves one of the best wine producing areas in the Cape, and Wellington at the foot of the Drakenstein Mountains is the centre of the dried fruit industry. The Bainskloof Mountain Pass offers many scenic views. The Breede River Valley on the other side is the principal export grape growing area in the country.
Dominated by Indigo Mountains, the Cape wine routes are immensely popular throughout the year. The wine lands provide wonderful opportunities for wine lovers to sample some noble vintages and explore exquisitely furnished Cape Dutch manor houses. Highlights of this tour include Paarl with its rich history of wine making and the role it played in the development of the Afrikaans language, Nederburg Estate, KWV, Franschhoek Valley where French settlers settled after fleeing persecution in France in the late 17th century, Boschendal Wine Estate, and Pniel, a village where the local people sometimes have great stories to tell. We spend the afternoon in Stellenbosch with its many historic buildings and some unique shopping opportunities.