Driving along the Cape Peninsula certainly indulges the explorer within and nothing compares with the sense of adventure when discovering the unknown. What’s more, you could cover the entire peninsula in a day or choose to overnight if you feel like lingering. Oh, and the best piece of advice I can give to you is, “Be the passenger as you cruise along – let someone else focus on the road as you take in the scenery.”

 Without giving too much away, one of the sweet spots you’ll encounter is Kommetjie.

As part of the Cape Peninsula Scenic Route, it is offered up by the picturesque Chapman’s Peak. Make sure you have a camera with you for these views! One cannot help but have a slight adrenalin surge when seeing the giant catch-fences used to secure this pass, which is notorious for rock falls. However these fences and high-tech systems have been put in place to improve safety and make it driver-friendly.

Kommetjie has nothing like the bustling tourist vibe of central Cape Town. It’s tranquil to say the least. The beaches are rocky and dotted with seaweed, stretches of mini boulders and fynbos. You will be sorely disappointed if you expect anything remotely Camps Bay. The abundant seafood, namely crayfish or West Coast rock lobster, muscles and periwinkles have made it a firm favourite with divers. It is important to note that a permit is required and that harvesting perlemoen, or perly as locals refer to it, is strictly forbidden and a chargeable offence. The crayfish season usually runs from mid November until April. Anybody trying to take more than their allotted four will meet some feisty rangers, who are usually visible at the entrance of the wooden walkways leading down to the beach.

Close by you can take a peek at methods of old by climbing the 34-metre stairwell of the Slangkop Lighthouse. The name is derived from the headland directly behind the lighthouse, which is called Slangkop Point (Snake Head Point). It is SA’s tallest guide to passing vessels and is still used when GPRS systems fail. Built by the English in 1919, each cast iron lighthouse panel weigh in at half-a-ton. The views of Cape Point Nature Reserve to the South and Hout Bay towards the North are definitely worth the climb.

Should you decide to bunk over there are a number of guests houses in the area. A new overnight tent camp is opening in March near Hoerikwaggo, one of the Kommetjie’s hiking trails. Check our listings for some other options. Remember there are many more villages in the area, as you’ll soon discover!

The Cape Scenic Route is extensive, look out for our additional features detailing the following towns:

 Atlantic side:

Kommetjie

Sweetwater

Witsand

Misty Cliffs

Scarborough

Ocean View

Olifantsbos

Peninsula section:

Gifkommetjie

Platboom

Cape of Good Hope

Diaz Beach

Cape Point

Rooi Krans

Buffels Baai

Bordjiesrif

Booi se Skerm

Smitwinkelbooi

False Bay side:

Miller Point

Boulder’s Beach

Simon’s Town

Fish Hoek

Kalk Bay

Glencarin

Happy Valley