The Cape Peninsula
Forty miles of mountain and ocean, ending at a lighthouse.
0 to 2 nights
Horse riding on Noordhoek beach
Eight kilometres of empty sand, and nothing else on it.
Noordhoek beach runs for eight kilometres below Chapman's Peak and is almost always empty. Riding it at the end of the day, with the tide out and the sand wet enough to reflect the mountain, is the best hour on the peninsula.
There is a photograph everybody takes on this beach, and the only way to be in it rather than looking at it is on a horse.
Noordhoek sits on the Atlantic side of the peninsula, at the bottom of Chapman's Peak, and it is the longest beach in the Cape. It has no development on it, no lifeguards, and on a weekday afternoon you can walk the length of it and pass four people. The Kommetjie lighthouse is at the far end and the wreck of the Kakapo, which ran aground in 1900, is still half buried in the sand about a kilometre along.
The ride
Out from the stables at the Noordhoek end, down through the milkwood and onto the beach. Most of it is at a walk along the waterline, with the option to trot or canter on the firm sand if everyone in the party is up for it. Two hours door to door, and the guides will stop and take the photograph for you without being asked.
When to go
The late afternoon ride is the one to take. The tide is usually out, the wet sand reflects Chapman's Peak, and the light comes in low off the Atlantic. It is also when the wind tends to drop.
With children
Six and up, led, and it works well. The beach is flat and open, the horses used for children have done it several thousand times, and a two-hour ride is about the limit of what most under-tens will enjoy. Older children who ride at home tend to want the canter, and the stables will assess before they allow it.
The practical detail
- How long it takes
- Two hours, or a half day with the wine estate ride
- When it works best
- All year. The late afternoon rides are best from October to April when the light holds; in winter the same ride goes out mid-morning.
- Who it suits
- Minimum age 6. Moderate physically. Suitable for families. Complete beginners are fine and most riders on the beach are walking rather than cantering. Children from six ride led, and the stables match horses to experience rather than putting everyone on the same animal. Hard hats are provided and there is a weight limit of around ninety-five kilos.
Good to know
Where it happens
Cape Town
A working city wedged between a mountain and two oceans.
4 to 6 nights
Itineraries that include it
4 days · 3 nights
Four Days in Cape Town
The city, the mountain and the peninsula, with a spare day for the weather.
7 days · 6 nights
A Cape Honeymoon
Seven days, two people, and a guide who knows when to disappear.
10 days · 9 nights
Ten Days in the Cape
The unhurried version, with time on the water and two nights on the coast.
Worth reading
Planning ·
The peninsula day, in the right order
Almost every visitor drives the Cape Peninsula the same way round, at the same time, and meets every coach in the Western Cape at Cape Point. There is no reason to, and the day is transformed by running it backwards.
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