Whale Coast Road Trip
This road keeps finding new ways to meet the sea. Over two days, Clarence Drive hangs above False Bay, Hermanus brings whales close to shore in season, and the route eventually reaches Cape Agulhas. Penguins, fynbos and a half-buried ghost town fill the gaps.
Highlights include:
- Have breakfast in Gordon’s Bay before swimming at Bikini Beach
- Stop above False Bay at Clarence Drive Outlook Point and scan for whales in season
- Walk the boardwalk through the African penguin colony at Stony Point
- Explore coastal fynbos, forest and Disa Kloof at Harold Porter National Botanical Garden
- Eat seafood in the cliff at Bientang’s Cave while looking across Walker Bay
- Have dinner in a Stanford heritage cottage at Madre Stanford
- Join a seasonal southern right whale-watching boat from Kleinbaai harbour
- Stand at the southernmost point of Africa, then visit the Cape Agulhas lighthouse
South Africa road trip from Gordon's Bay to Cape Agulhas (257 km, about 5 hours driving). Plan this trip with Sideroads Africa.
Stops along the way
- Bananas and Jam: Gordon’s Bay breakfast stop before Bikini Beach and Clarence Drive.
- Bikini Beach: Gordon’s Bay harbour beach — calm water, mountain backdrop, and a swim before Clarence Drive.
- Dappat Se Gat: Hidden cove on Clarence Drive between Gordon’s Bay and Rooi-Els — sea caves at low tide; swimming is not advised.
- Clarence Drive Outlook Point: Roadside False Bay lookout on the R44 near Rooi-Els — whales in season and hanging cliff roadbeds.
- Stony Point Penguin Colony Entrance: CapeNature African penguin colony at Betty’s Bay — boardwalk through nesting birds without the Boulders crowds.
- Harold Porter National Botanical Garden: SANBI garden in Betty’s Bay — coastal fynbos, Disa Kloof waterfall, and a pocket of Afromontane forest.
- Hermanus Country Market: Saturday market at Hermanus Cricket Club — local food, crafts, and a sit-down in the middle of the stalls. Saturday only, 9 AM–2 PM.
- Bientang's Cave Restaurant & Wine Bar: Restaurant built into the Hermanus cliff — seafood, wine, and whales in Walker Bay below.
- Voëlklip Beach: East Hermanus beach below the cliffs — a long walk, cold water, and land-based whale watching from the rocks.
- Madre Stanford: Country kitchen in a Stanford heritage cottage — seasonal blackboard menu, garden veg, and a staff-pick dinner.
- Stanford Valley Country Lodge: Klein River valley farm lodge on the R326 — cottages, a country restaurant, and the overnight between Hermanus and Gansbaai.
- Zesty Lemon Stanford: Garden breakfast on the Landskein / Sir Robert Stanford Estate dam — a Day 2 start before Gansbaai.
- Ivanhoe Sea Safari's - Whale Watching Tours - Gansbaai: Boat whale watching from Kleinbaai harbour — southern right whales in season off the Walker Bay / Dyer Island coast.
- Plaaitjieskraal Ghost Town: Abandoned 1980s holiday camp near Buffeljagsbaai — cottages half-buried by dunes on a sandy coastal spur.
- Southern Tip of Africa: The cairn marking the official southernmost point of Africa — Atlantic and Indian Oceans meeting a kilometre west of the lighthouse.
- Cape Agulhas: L’Agulhas lighthouse at the cape — red-and-white tower, museum, and the walk toward where two oceans meet.