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Read more about the article The Twelve Apostles – the back of Table Mountain
Firefly the Travel Guy

The Twelve Apostles – the back of Table Mountain

When you think of Cape Town, you think of Table Mountain, with Devil's Peak on one side and Lion's Head and Signal Hill on the other. Behind Table Mountain on the Atlantic Seaboard, you'll find the Twelve Apostles Mountain Range with its magnificent crags, ridges, ravines, and gorges running roughly from Kloof Nek (the saddle between Table Mountain and Lion’s Head) to Hout Bay. Given the name of the series of mountains, you’d think you’d be able to count 12…

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26/01/2025
Read more about the article Kalk Bay Harbour
Firefly the Travel Guy

Kalk Bay Harbour

It's been more than just a few years since I last visited (and not just driven through) Kalk Bay. In fact, I think the last time was when I was part of the "Our Beautiful Country" television game show and was put up in Kalk Bay for the recording of my rounds). Spending a little time with my daughter before we head back to PE and she stays behind for her second year of university, we played tourist and took…

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23/01/2025
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Shark Spotters over Muizenberg

On my last visit to Cape Town I had to make a stop in Noordhoek and returned to Cape Town via Fish Hoek and Boyes Drive.  At the top of Boys Drive I pulled over to enjoy the view of Muizenberg Beach from the lookout where one of the shark spotters is based.  The Shark Spotting Programme is the only program of its kind in the world. Cape Town has, over the last few years, experienced an increase in the…

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01/06/2016
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Atlantic seaboard sunset

 One of South Africa's most popular sunset view sites is from Signal Hill in Cape Town.  Visitors and locals alike head up to its lookout spots to see the sun set over the Atlantic Ocean.  And that is exactly what I did last week on a whirlwind visit to the city for a tourism e-marketing summit.  The conference ended just before six and I rushed up, parked the car and made my way along one of the paths to find somewhere…

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08/09/2014
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Kloof Nek cannons

Over the years the Cape has been occupied by different countries and there was always a threat of an invasion because of the Cape's strategic location.  Because of this a big number of defensive positions have been set up all around the Cape Peninsula from the time that the first European's colonised the area.  One of these can be seen at the top of Kloof Nek.  Two 12 Pounder Guns were placed on Kloof Nek in 1782 by the Dutch East India Company (VOC)…

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08/08/2014
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Harbour beacon

Although it looks like a lighthouse it isn't a lighthouse, not quite.  It does have a light though.  What is it then and where did I see it?  It is a beacon at the end of the breakwater forming part of the Port Elizabeth Harbour wall.

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21/11/2013
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The old Cape Point Lighthouse

Cape Point is a many historic tales and legends.  In 1688 Bartolomeu Dias passed around the point in a storm without even knowing it and only got to see it for the first time on the return journey.  He named it Cabo Tormentosa or the Cape of Storms.  Its also off this point and coastline that the mythical Flying Dutchman under the command of  Captain Hendrick van der Decken is doomed to sail into eternity.  Cape Point is also one of the biggest tourist attractions…

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05/07/2013
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Chacma Baboons

At Cape Point there stands a little statue of a mother chacma Baboon with a baby riding on her back.  Chacma Baboons (Papio ursinus) are intimately associated with the Cape Peninsula and the Cape of Good Hope.  Baboons inside the Cape Point section of the Table Mountain National Parkpark has become somewhat of a tourist attraction.  Round about six troops either live entirely within the Cape Point section or use the section as part of their range.  The baboons in this area has…

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13/05/2013
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The lighthouse at Cape Point

Cape Point may not be the most southern point of Africa as many people think, but it must be one of the most dramatic spots on the South African coastline.  To get to the bottom Cape Point lighthouse one has to take a footpath along the point so most people just catch a glimpse of it from the viewpoints around the old Cape Point Lighthouse.  On my visit I didn't even notice the scaffolding around the lighthouse until I downloaded my…

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08/05/2013
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Breathtaking views

Earth Day gets celebrated annually on this day, 22 April, to demonstrate support for environmental protection and is celebrated in more than 192 countries every year.  The name and concept of Earth Day was pioneered at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco by John McConnell in 1969 . He proposed 21 March 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere., for the celebration of this special day.  A month later a separate Earth Day was founded by United…

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22/04/2013