Chapman's Peak is to the centre right of the photo with the sea entrance to Hout Bay on the left

Chapman's Peak is part of a mountain range on the Atlantic Coastline of the Cape Peninsula. The peak is situated between Noordhoek beach and Hout Bay and forms the eastern arm of the entrance to Hout Bay. It is named after John Chapman who came to Cape Town in 1607. He was the mate on a British ship that was sent to Hout Bay to investigate the possibility of building a harbour there.

The peak is 593 metres high and has sheer cliffs dropping almost vertically into the sea. It is along this coastline that Chapman's Peak drive has been built. The original road was cut out of the sheer rock faces of mountain that overlooks the entrance to Hout Bay and Noordhoek beach.

It's a really spectacular drive along a very narrow road with stunning views out onto the Atlantic ocean.

At the time of writing this article Chapman's Peak Drive was closed due to problems experienced with falling rocks and an unfortunate fatality.

The authorities were in the process of doing a complete upgrade of the road including stabilising the cliff faces with new safety features such as catch fences and concrete roofing. The road has subsequently been reopened.

As there is much to see along this stretch of road I will start the drive in Hout Bay and describe it from there. Leaving Hout Bay and travelling southwards the first thing you see as you leave the town is a bronze statue of a leopard sitting looking out over the bay. It is positioned on a large granite rock near the Hout Bay beach. The sculpture is the work of an artist named Ivan Mitford -Barberton who lived in Hout Bay and died there in 1976.

About 800 metres out of Hout Bay you will come across a block house built of rock on the left hand side of the Below it on the seaside of the road you will find the east battery, a group of cannons mounted there by the British to protect the harbour. Across the bay on the slopes of the Sentinel is the west battery which was built at the same time as the east one.

The Sentinel is the mountain peak that forms the western arm of Hout Bay and is where the fishing harbour is built.

From our position at the eastern battery looking back towards Hout Bay you can see the old ore jetty jutting out from the eastern mountain slopes. It was here that Manganese mined on the upper slopes of Chapman's Peak was loaded onto the ships. Apparently an ore loader sank a ship at the jetty when he dropped ore right through the bottom of it. Can you imagine what he said when he saw what he had done.

Oops!!!

I suppose, and then made himself scarce. I am not sure whether the wreck is still there or not.

About 5 kilometres from Hout Bay you reach the lookout point on the drive. The view over Hout Bay is quite spectacular with the surf rolling onto Hout Bay beach in the distance.

Karbonkelberg

From this vantage point you get a fantastic view of the Karbonkelberg and the Sentinel on the far side of the bay.

Scared of narrow roads and high cliff faces? It's from the lookout point that the dangerous part of the drive starts. The section of roadway between the lookout point and Noordhoek was cut out of the sheer rock face to make space for the road.

Look upwards and see the cliffs towering above you. Some of the bends in the road are so narrow that you begin to wonder if you will ever get your car around them let alone a tourist bus.

In some places the edge of the road hangs out over high cliff faces with sheer drops into the sea far below.

Over the years many people have ended their lives by either jumping or driving over the cliffs.

The original road was built in 1922 by Sir Frederick de Waal and links Noordhoek to Hout Bay and Cape Town. As you get closer to Noordhoek on the southern side of this mountain pass you get some spectacular views out over Noordhoek beach. This beach is part of Long Beach which runs all the way to Kommetjie.

If you look carefully you should see the wreck of the Kakapo lying about two kilometres down the beach in the sand. It came ashore 1905 when its Captain mistook Hout Bay for Cape Point.

Over the past few years since the road has been closed many participants who take part in the Two Oceans marathon and the Pick 'n Pay cycle tour have been wishing that the route around Chappies as they call it will be reopened. Well! the good news is that the road will be open in time for both the marathon and the cycle tour. That means no more climbing Ou Kaapseweg in 35 degree temperatures.

Noordhoek in days of old was a farming community. Today the village has been taken over by artists who have built their homes on the lower slopes of Chapman's Peak and in the fertile valley below. If you have time explore, enjoy the lovely oak trees and farmlands that still make up the greater part of Noordhoek.

Why not see Chappies and the rest of the Peninsula the hard way. Compete in either of the two events mentioned above. Whichever way you prefer, you MUST see this spectacular coastline.

27 January 2009. Unfortunately due to rockfalls during winter this road has been closed indefinitely. All Peninsula tours still visit Hout bay but use Constantia Nek drive to get to the Southern Peninsula.

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