Discover Cape Agulhas
You can Visit this Unique Place

The Cape Agulhas Tour gives you the opportunity to drive along beautiful mountain passes, taste wine at some of the best wine estates in the world and explore the Southernmost Tip on the continent of Africa. Southern towns along the coast of en-route to Cape Town are also explored. If this Cape Agulhas tour is undertaken during the whaling season, then you can enjoy whale watching in Hermanus. Magnificent views on the way along False Bay on Clarence Drive are just sheer pleasure.


CAPE AGULHAS TOUR DETAILS

Distance: 625 km / 390 miles

Duration: 2 days

Best time: Spring

Included: Certified driver/guide, a/c vehicle and gasoline

Excluded: Entrance / tasting fees, overnight accommodation, lunch, drinks

Price: R1450.00 pp for 2 persons per day, R975.00 pp for 3 persons per day, R775.00 pp 4+ persons per day.

Note: All tours can be customized


Inquire about the Cape Agulhas Tour

DAY 1

1. CITY BOWL
The first stop on this Cape Agulhas tour is Cape Town’s city centre. It lies cradled in a vast blue-grey amphitheatre formed by Table Mountain, Lion’s Head and Devil’s Peak. This conglomeration of Dutch and Victorian architecture, interspersed with modern wonders of glass and concrete, is the heart of Cape Town and on either side of Adderley Street is an eclectic array of sightseeing highlights and urban attractions that endowed the Mother City with its unique flavour.


2. GROOTTE SCHUUR HOSPITAL
Prof Christiaan Barnard transformed the first human heart transplant in 1967 in Grootte Schuur Hospital. Prof Barnard and his team implanted the heart in Mr. Louis Washkansky, a Polish dentist. He lived for 18 days before succumbing to pneumonia. The operation was considered as a success.



3. RHODES MEMORIAL
Rhodes Memorial, temple-like, was constructed in 1912 from Table Mountain granite. At the foot of the monument’s stone steps, which are guarded by eight massive bronze lions, stands an impressive equestrian statue. Magnificent views of the city and the immediate suburbs below can be enjoyed. Afternoon tea can be enjoyed in a charming old stone cottage that serves as a restaurant.


4. TOWNSHIPS
On the Cape Agulhas tour we'll give you information about the townships. The first township was built 1900 and situated next to the old harbour in Cape Town. The people were removed to Ndabeni when the bebonic plague broke out during 1918. They were again removed to Langa in 1923 when the Spanish flu broke out. Guguletu was built in 1948 and the hostels were developed to house the black male migrant workforce. Expansion of the local townships continued after that.


5. STELLENBOSCH
Stellenbosch is the second oldest Dutch settlement in South Africa and is established in 1679 by the Dutch governor Simon van der Stel. The town has the most Cape Dutch style buildings that is found only in South Africa. The wineroute of Stellenbosch was the first to open in 1971 and is also the largest. Stellenbosch is the heart of the Winelands and a town enlivened by its large student population. Stellenbosch is well served by pubs and taverns and a very social life by students of the local university.


6. HELLS HOOGTE PASS
Hells Hoogte Pass or literally Hell’s Heights meaning “Steep Heights”. Hell’s Hoogte Pass connects Stellenbosch with the Franschhoek Valley and was built in 1854. It is a scenic drive through the Jonkershoek mountains and Simonsberg. En-route to Cape Agulas - the Hells’s Hoogte Pass one experience how the Jonkers Hoek Mountain changes its shape dramatically from a different point of view.


7. FRANSCHHOEK (WINE TASTING)
Franschhoek was found 1688 when the Hugenots were settled here. The town’s name means “French corner” and is a very attractive wine region. As a legacy of their Hugenot past, many fine estates and homesteads still bears their original French names. A graceful, imposing memorial and museum commemorates the arrival of early Hugenots. Franschhoek is a pleasant little town and a culinary mecca to be explored.


8. FRANSCHHOEK PASS
The original route over the Franschhoek Pass Mountains followed the tracks of the San and migratory game – hence the original name of Elephant Pass. Building of the present pass began in 1923 and was completed in 1925. Viewpoints offer impressive scenes over the picturesque Franschhoek Valley. The mountains are covered with the Cape fynbos and one may encounters baboons along the way.


9. THEEWATERSKLOOF DAM
Theewaterskloofdam is built in the 1970s and is is the largest dam in the Western Cape. The dam was built to impround the water of a tangle of rivers including the east-flowing Riversonderend. The brownish colour of the water accounts for the name of the dam (Tea-water –ravine). The dam is a popular venue for water-sport enthusiasts. A scenic stop on our way towards Cape Agulhas.


10. VILLIERSDORP
Villiersdorp was founded in 1844 on the farm Rayden by field-cornet Pieter de Villiers. Agriculture is the main economic activity and the town boasts the only “moskonfyt” (grape preserve) factory in the world. Outside the town is a nature reserve that includes a wild flower garden with up to 60 species of protea and other indigenous flowers.


11. CALEDON
The name of the town was changed in 1813 to Caledon in honour of a former governor of the Cape, the Earl of Caledon. Agriculture, timber and wool are the main economic activities. Caledon boasts the largest malt-producing plant in the Southern hemisphere. The world-famous Caledon wildflower Garden and Nature Reserve was established 1899. The Caledon district hosts also our national bird, the Blue Crane.


12. BREDASDORP
Just a short distance from Cape Agulhas lies the village of Bredasdorp. It's named for Michiel van Breda, the town’s first mayor in 1840. The town in the commercial centre for the southernmost district in Africa which is known for its wheat, wool, dairy products, thoroughbred horses and sheepdogs. An abundance of wild flowers, including the famous Bredasdorp lilly and Elim heath can be seen during spring. The Foot of Africa marathon starts and finishes in Bredasdorp every year during October. The Foot of Africa is the toughest marathon on the SA running calender.


13. CAPE AGULHAS (LIGHT HOUSE)
Cape Agulhas is the southernmost tip on the continent of Africa. Officially it is here where the Atlantic and Indian Ocean meet, even though the warmer waters of the Indian Ocean penetrates as far as Cape Point. The name Agulhas was probably inspired by the fact that the compass needles (“agulhas”) of early Portuguese navigators showed no magnetic deviation from true north here. The first lighthouse was built in 1848.

14. (OVERNIGHT STAY)

15. STANFORD
Stanford is situated on the banks of the Klein River just a short distance from Cape Agulas is rich in both history and agriculture atmosphere. The original farm belonged to captain (later Sir) Robert Stanford. Stanford offers even a more tranquil lifestyle than resort towns like Hermanus. Boats and canoes can be taken out on the river to enjoy the fynbos and plentiful birdlife.


16. HERMANUS (WHALES)
Hermanus is one of the world’s finest holiday and fishing resorts and also the best land-based whale-watching place. The town is named after Hermanus Pieters and the first municipality proclaimed in 1904. An official whale crier, complete with uniform and horn, announces the arrival of the gentle giants of the deep: mostly southern rights. There are many viewpoints to watch them from winter to spring. The giant marine mammals enter the bays both to mate and, after a yearlong gestation period, to calve. Always a great stop on the Cape Agulhas tour.


17. BETTY’S BAY (HAROLD PORTER BOTANICAL GARDEN / PENGUINS)
Betty’s Bay was names for the daughter of Arthur Youlden in the 1930s. Together with two other businessmen of Johannesburg, they developed the seaside municipality. The African Penguin lives at Stony Point and a visit will be worthwhile. The Herold Porter National Botanical Garden in and around Disa Kloof represents one of the largest concentrations of wild flower species in the country and has an entrancing waterfall.


18. ROOI ELS
Rooi Els is situated on the banks of the Rooi Els River (Red Alder) mouth and consists mainly out of houses for holidaymakers. Nestled against the slopes of the Hottentots-Holland Mountains, Rooi Els is a picturesque setting with a view of the Table Mountain range on the opposite side of False Bay. The twisting and turning Clarence Drive leads the visitor to or from Rooi Els along the huge False Bay.


19. CLARENCE DRIVE
From Gordons’s Bay the R44 skirts the western end of the Hottentots Holland range to seek out the one coastal resort after another. This scenic drive was named in honour of Mr. Clarence, who together with 2 other Johannesburg businessmen who were responsible for development south of the Hottentot Holland Mountains. Magnificent viewpoints offer spectacular scenes over False Bay. Probably the most scenic road on the whole Cape Agulhas tour.


20. GORDON’S BAY
Tucked into a secluded corner of False Bay, this holiday village has a small harbour and is a popular angling and boating resort. It takes its name from Colonel Robert Gordon, commander of the garrison at the Cape from 1780 to 1795. A beautiful marine scenic drive (Route 44) extends from Gordon’s Bay to Hangklip, a 454m high “hanging” chunk of rock that marks the easternmost end of the False Bay.


21. STRAND
Originally known as Somerset Strand, a suburb of Somerset West, this holiday resort grew rapidly and finally gained municipal status in 1897. The white flat beach in Milk Bay is backed by a promenade and offers the safest bathing in False Bay. After Strand we'll head into Cape Town and look back at a great Cape Agulhas tour.

for more possibilities Top 14 - Cape Town tour recommendations