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CAPE PENINSULA

The Cape Peninsula is a popular destination for tourists, and it is easy to see why. With the majestic Table Mountain, the Cape Point Nature Reserve and the stunningly scenic Chapman’s Peak Drive, it has some world-class attractions. But there is so much more natural beauty to this region.

The skyline is dominated by Table Mountain, Devil’s Peak and the Back Table. This section of the Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) has the highest peaks of the region, beautiful viewpoints in all directions, lush forests and a plethora of hiking trails. Further south, the landscape becomes less dramatic and lower in altitude. This provides a good habitat for some larger mammals and the Common Ostrich.


Some excellent wetlands, coastal reserves and smaller parks are located within the metropolitan area of Cape Town. They provide good birding sites and are a lot quieter than the TMNP.

There are miles of dramatic coastline with golden beaches, huge boulders, rock pools and cobalt blue bays. This is where you can find a lot of fauna. The rock pools and kelp forests are teeming with marine life and often overlooked by tourists. Chacma Baboons and the African Clawless Otter use this coastline to feed and the most famous coastline inhabitants are the African Penguins at Boulders Beach. The offshore waters are the home of dolphins, whales, seals and sharks.


This entire region is part of the Cape Floral Kingdom, the smallest of earth’s six floral kingdoms. The peninsula is a floral biodiversity hotspot and has a high number of endemic plant species.

False Bay Nature Reserve, Steenbras Nature Reserve, Table Bay Nature Reserve, Table Mountain National Park, Tygerberg Nature Reserve Cape Peninsula map

Although the Cape Peninsula is a small region, there is an abundance of natural splendor to behold. Especially on the floral side. Some 2300 plant species can be found on the peninsula and Table Mountain alone has almost 1500 species. Most of the vegetation you will see is Fynbos and remnant patches of indigenous forest in the wetter ravines.

The Cape Peninsula has many urban areas and very limited open spaces. This means that the animals here are often small in size. The most common mammal is the Rock Hyrax. You will see plenty of those on top of Table Mountain or in other rocky areas. From Constantiaberg and the mountains further to the south, Chacma Baboons roam the lower slopes in search for food. Several troops here are the only primates in Africa to visit the coastline and feed on marine organisms. Harder to spot animals are the Caracal, African Clawless Otter and Cape Genet.


The larger animals, such as Bontebok, Common Eland, Common Ostrich, Cape Grysbok, Hartebeest and Mountain Zebra have made their home in the Cape Point section of the Table Mountain National Park.

There is plenty to see in the sky as well. The mountain cliffs boast several raptor species, such as the Jackal Buzzard, Booted Eagle, African Harrier-hawk, Peregrine Falcon and the Rock Kestrel. Along the coastline you can spot the endangered African Oystercatcher and the iconic African Penguin. The richness of the vegetation also creates plenty of habitats for other bird species. Eyecatchers are the several beautiful colored sunbirds and the Cape Sugarbird.

On the marine side of life there is also a lot the discover. Almost along the entire coastline of the Peninsula you can find Brown Fur Seals, even in the man-made harbors. You might even see some Southern Elephant Seals on the beaches. Several dolphin species roam the waters around the Peninsula and between August and October, chances are good to spot the Southern Right Whale.

But a habitat most tourist don’t even notice are the many rockpools along the coastline. They are created by the tides and range from 30cm to 10-20m across and up to 2m deep. They are filled with life; Cape Sea Urchins, anemones, spiny and cushion stars, a variety of snails and crabs are your typical pool inhabitants. The larger the rockpool, the more diverse the life gets. Some of the larger pools are home to soft corals, feather-duster worms, tubeworms, sea fans, nudibranchs, sea hares and prawns. You might even see octopus hunting.

Browse through some of the species you can find in this region: