Boulders Beach on the peninsula holds a mainland colony of African penguins — a species that has declined catastrophically and is now critically endangered — watched from boardwalks with birds nesting under the vegetation metres away.

Cape Point and the reserve at the peninsula's tip hold eland, bontebok, ostrich and the chacma baboons that are the area's real management problem. The baboons are habituated, bold and dangerous around food: keep car windows closed, carry nothing edible in the open, and never try to take something back from one.

The fynbos itself is the botanical draw — the Cape Floral Kingdom is the smallest and richest of the world's floral kingdoms, and the peninsula alone holds more plant species than the whole of Britain, with sugarbirds and sunbirds feeding on the proteas.

De Hoop's coast, and the dunes at Koppie Alleen in particular, is the whale destination. Southern right whales come into the sheltered marine protected area to calve and mate from around June to November, peaking in August and September, and are watched from the top of the dunes as they breach and roll a short distance offshore — no boat required.

De Hoop's interior holds bontebok, Cape mountain zebra and eland on the fynbos plain, and the Potberg cliffs hold the Western Cape's only breeding colony of Cape vultures.

Practicalities

The peninsula is an easy day from Cape Town; book Boulders in advance in peak season. De Hoop is around three hours east, with accommodation inside the reserve.

The Whale Trail, a five-day guided hike between overnight cottages along De Hoop's coast, books out roughly a year ahead and is one of South Africa's great walks.