Orange Villa

At first glance, Tranquil Hout Bay appears to be an independent harbour village, and not just another suburb of Cape Town. It is surrounded by the ocean and wine farms and enclosed by magnificent mountains with the famous Mount Sentinel as outpost. Fishing boats regularly unload fresh fish onto the docks at the harbor with seagulls and seals competing for any leftovers. A unique harbor front emporium (the first in the Southern Hemisphere) offers shops, markets and restaurants where the freshest seafood can be enjoyed straight from the ocean. Boat trips to Seal Island, densely populated by around 6 000 seals, also depart from the harbor at regular intervals. Deep sea fishing charters can also be booked from here.Chapman’s Peak Drive starts just south of Hout Bay and leads to Noordhoek. This toll road is one of the most spectacular marine drives anywhere in the world, and offers magnificent 180 degree views, especially at sunset. Picnic spots and lookout points are available along the 9km route with its 114 curves. Hout Bay’s World of Birds is the largest bird park in Africa with over 3 000 birds and small animals of 400 different species in more than 100 walk through aviaries. This is a true paradise for nature lovers and photographers, and is regarded as one of Cape Town’s premier tourist attractions with more than 100 000 annual visitors. Township tours to the informal settlement of Imizamo Yethu will introduce you to the life and culture of a township and includes visits to a shebeen,the sampling of local food and a consultation with traditional healer. Hout Bay is very centrally situated, with a scenic drive leading to Table Mountain National Park and Cape Point – the southwestern-most tip of Africa where the two oceans meet. On the other side of the Karbonkelberg one will find Llundadno, one of the Cape’s most beautiful beaches with its large granite boulders and mountain backdrop. Wine tasting can be done at the various estates in Noordhoek, Constantia and Tokai or further afield in the Cape Winelands, all within range of an easy day trip. The Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens (acclaimed to be one of the great botanic gardens of the world) are also just 10km away.