A jagged outcrop cuts into the foaming Atlantic. With its sheer cliff faces, surging sea, and incredible array of flora and fauna, journeying along the Cape Peninsula, towards the famed Cape of Good Hope, is – quite undeniably – a drive of a lifetime.
Originally nicknamed “Cabo Tormentoso”, or the “Cape of Storms”, by Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias back in 1488, its most long-standing moniker – “The Cape of Good Hope” – was given to it just a little later by his slightly more optimistic ruler, King John II. But as you watch the waves crash with an unforgiving ferocity against the rugged rocks that line this coastline, it’s likely that you’ll be more inclined to agree with the Dias’ naming of Africa’s most southwestern point. Out here, no matter how blue the sky is, there’s a sense in the air that a storm could descend at any second. Or, perhaps the drama of the beautifully wild scene has just rubbed off on us – after all, who doesn’t love a bit of drama?
But the “Cape of Good Hope” – despite what the sign says – isn’t actually the most south-western point of Africa. In fact, it’s the rocky headland of Cape Point, just a five minute drive further along the coast, that holds this claim to fame.