Walking to the Lighthouse

A summer stroll along the Cape Peninsula’s western coastline

Stunning views along the coastline southwards towards Slangkop lighthouse. Cape Peninsula, South Africa. Photo: ©Zoë Chapman Poulsen.

With Cape Town’s city centre under the iconic shadow of the peaks of Table Mountain, Devil’s Peak, and Lion’s Head, few realise that these are just the start of the rugged Cape Peninsula mountain chain.

With its fynbos clad sandstone and granite slopes, the mountains of Table Mountain National Park sit within the city, extending all the way to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope in the south, the latter of which is the southwesternmost tip of the African continent.

The beautiful Pelargonium capitatum continues to produce its delicate pink blooms well into the summer months. Slangkop, Cape Peninsula, South Africa. Photo: ©Zoë Chapman Poulsen.

Living in what is affectionately known as Cape Town’s ‘Deep South’, which includes the suburbs and outlying villages south of the Silvermine section of Table Mountain National Park, one of my favourite spots for early morning and evening walks is a stunning coastal boardwalk that leads from Slangkop lighthouse into the seaside suburb of Kommetjie.

Slangkop lighthouse sits on the western coastline of the Cape Peninsula in the shadow of the small mountain peak of Slangkop, which when translated means “snake head” in Afrikaans.