Chapman’s Peak Drive

Chapman’s Peak Drive winds for about nine kilometres around the mountainside between Hout Bay and Noordhoek, cut into the cliffs with sheer drops to the Atlantic below. Its many curves open onto views of Hout Bay, the Sentinel peak and the long white beach at Noordhoek.

Lay-bys and picnic spots along the way let you stop for photographs, and the drive is a highlight of any Cape Peninsula day. In Hout Bay, boats run out to Duiker Island to see a large colony of Cape fur seals.

The road can close in bad weather or after rockfalls, so we check before setting out. Late afternoon, when the sun drops towards the sea, is the most beautiful time to drive it.