Slangkop Point lighthouse, part of the Marine Protected Area of Table Mountain National Park, is a 34m-high giant of a lighthouse that has become the icon of Kommetjie. Visitors walking the 8km stretch of Noordhoek Beach often climb up to the top of the lighthouse for stunning coastal views.

Before its lamp was officially lit in March 1919, many seafaring vessels had run afoul of the rocky coastline from Cape Town to Cape Point.

One of the most remarkable shipwrecks in the area was, however, possibly the gentlest of them all. In May 1900, a 1000-ton steamer named the Kakapo (after a large, rare, nocturnal parrot found in New Zealand) was on her maiden voyage from Wales to Australia. After stopping over at Table Bay for fuel and supplies, it sailed down the Cape Peninsula coast in a blustering storm.

At sunset, with low visibility, the captain mistook Chapman’s Peak for Cape Point, and this is how he, his crew and the Kakapo ended up ploughing some distance onto Noordhoek Beach, to the amazement of the few locals living there at the time.
All hands on deck simply stepped down to terra firma, hardly getting their feet wet.

You can visit its old, rusting boiler section to this day as part of your morning walk along this wide 8km-long beach.

The Slangkop Point lighthouse became fully automated in 1979, but is still one of the few lighthouses in the world to be manned by a light-keeper – known these days as a ‘lighthouse officer’.

HOW TO GET HERE

Kommetjie (site of the Slangkop Point lighthouse) is approx. 30km south of Cape Town on the Chapman’s Peak road past Hout Bay. If you continue south past Kommetjie you will end up at Cape Point, which is well worth a visit.

BEST TIME TO VISIT

The best time to visit the Slangkop Point lighthouse is on a clear day (any time of year) so you can enjoy the views from the tower.

AROUND THE AREA

Go fishing from Kommetjie harbour, cold-water dive off the coastline, walk along a beach trail or visit the many shipwrecks in the area.

TOURS TO DO

Day tours of the Cape Point Route, including a stop in Kommetjie if you’re staying in central Cape Town.

GET AROUND

Exploring the Cape Point Route (including the Kommetjie area) is best done by driving yourself, so you can stop and linger wherever you want. This route, from Cape Town to the tip of the Cape Peninsula at Cape Point, is 1 of the most popular day routes in South Africa, and always worth a return visit.

WHAT TO PACK

Pack for a Cape outing, which means pack seasonally and always be prepared for rain, especially in winter (May to September).

WHAT TO EAT

Kommetjie has a great selection of seafood restaurants, pizza parlours, pubs and surfer hangouts.

WHAT'S HAPPENING

Look out for the Kommetjie Village Festival held in November

BEST BUYS

Organic produce at the Free Range Farm Shop at Imhoff Farm