Cape of Good Hope - South Africa

The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. It is a part of the widely dispersed Table Mountain National Park which is broken out, roughly, into three sections. Before it was part of the national park, it was part of the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. We visited in late May, 2018. 

We were staying in Cape Town and were taken by a guide. Our primary interests were Cape Point and Boulder Bay, but I also hoped to see wildlife in addition to the highly anticipated African penguins at Boulder Bay. 

Many people believe (like I did before I got there) that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa and that it is the dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. That distinction, however, belongs to Cape Agulhas which is 90 miles east-southeast. In my mind the Cape of Good Hope is not even as significant as Cape Point, which is three-quarters of a mile east of the Cape of Good Hope. 

The following are photos from our outing:

My best view of ostriches so far came relatively near the Cape of Good Hope. I saw three ostriches over the side of the road and asked our guide to stop the car. I got out and approached them slowly and probably got within 30 yards of one of them. The backdrop was the beautiful ocean and spectacularly colored rock. 

A little while later we came across some sacred ibis with the beautiful ocean and rock back-drop. 

Cape fur seals near the Cape of Good Hope.

Cape gull near the Cape of Good Hope.

Red-winged starling

A Cape wagtail. It is fun to note that the Cape is so significant, that animals indigenous to the area are named after it. 

We saw the Cape cormorant near the Cape of Good Hope, but this photo is actually from Kalk Bay, a little bit up the east coast of the Cape. 

These Cape chacma baboons were also seen after we left Cape Point. 

Switching to geographic photos: Hout Bay on the drive down the Cape. 

West coast of the Cape Peninsula just south of Hout Bay. 

The Cape of Good Hope.

The light house at Cape Point. 

Diaz Beach and the Cape of Good Hope from Cape Point. 

Cape Point

Judy at Cape Point.

The east side of the Cape and False Bay. 

The Atlantic Ocean and False Bay from Cape Point.