Hangklip

From Gordon's Bay, the R44 takes a long, winding and scenically stunning route towards Hangklip, the tip of False Bay (the other extreme of the giant bay is Cape Point). Many ships rounding Cape Point came too far into the bay, thinking it was the west coast of Africa. The strong south-east wind forced them onto the shore, where many were shipwrecked.

Along this magnificent road are isolated villages, including pretty Pringle Bay, with a cute sandy cove frequented by locals and seasonal visitors, most of whom are on weekend breaks at their holiday homes. Further along the coast, Betty's Bay straggles for nearly 5km along a coastline that is alternatively rocky and sandy.

Runaway slaves from Cape Town used caves in these hills to hide from cruel owners, whose tenacity in retrieving their 'property' resulted in terrible bloodshed.

Whales were also mercilessly hunted here, but thankfully can now be seen bobbing and diving (and sometimes leaping) all along this coast. Inland are the beautifully situated Harold Porter National Botanic Gardens, famous for its wild flowers.

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