South Africa’s Western Cape seduces travellers again and again with its natural beauty, dedication to sustainability, and an incredible range of flora, bird, and ocean life. With one of the world’s most famous mountains at its centre, and two oceans on its doorstep, Cape Town’s geography, culture, and devotion to sustainability make it one of the most desirable cities to live not just in Africa, but worldwide.
A Floral Kingdom in Africa’s Greenest City
With a stunning location and year-round idyllic weather, the outdoors is a vital part of Cape Town’s lifestyle. The city draws a steady stream of repeat visitors, sometimes for weeks or even months as they make friends with locals and explore Cape Town beyond its biggest attractions. Taking a “sustainability starts with its people” approach, the city is actively curbing urban sprawl, with new nature reserves popping up in what is already one of the world’s best cities for hikers.
Still, if you can tear yourself away from the awesome views, you’ll have time to admire South Africa’s vast range of plant life and wildflowers. Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden brings the country’s flora to the suburbs of Cape Town, with eye-popping art installations to remind you that nature and culture go hand in hand in Cape Town. With a few more days up your sleeve, you can drive up the Garden Route, where many of the Cape’s plant species grow wild.
Feathered, Fierce & Fabulous
A colony of African penguins have called Boulder’s Beach home since 1982. They’re not the only colony on the cape, but they’re certainly the most famous, with their own dedicated viewing boardwalk, ensuring great photos and happy, healthy penguins. You can even swim at designated spots nearby, carefully chosen to avoid disturbing the birds.
Not all South Africa’s birds are so proper and petite as its penguins! The ostriches of Oudtshoorn are not afraid to show off, either on a farm where you can feed them and learn about the enormous industry they support, or in the wild, ideally on safari. If you do encounter a wild ostrich on the road, give these divas their space. They’re fast and can do serious damage to your rental car if they feel threatened.
There are so many bird species here that South Africa has created the continent’s first dedicated birding route project. Across a range of routes (it’s a big country), the sightings on offer are too numerous to list, but the route’s designers recorded 220 different species in the Western parts of South Africa in just one day!
Going Wild Where Oceans Meet
The wildlife encounters get more extreme offshore. Steel your nerves and take the plunge for a cage dive to experience a variety of shark species including white sharks, bronze whaler sharks, seven-gill sharks, and rays that populate South Africa’s warm waters. If you’d rather stay high, dry, and away from the ocean’s most famous predator, whale watching safaris run from June to December, inviting you to spot these playful giants as they round the Cape. Seal colonies dot the coast as well, so you’re never far away from an exciting marine life adventure on the Western Cape.
This article was originally published in No. 33 of Globetrotting Magazine.
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Christian’s first globetrotting adventure saw him get lost exploring the streets of Saigon. Following his nose to Asia’s best coffee, two lifelong addictions were born. A freelance writer and novelist, Christian’s travels have since taken him around his native Australia, Asia, Europe, and much of North America. His favourite trips have been through Japan, Spain, and Brazil, though with a love of off-beat, artsy cities, he’ll seize any opportunity to return to Paris, New York, or Berlin.
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