Betty’s Bay is a small holiday town along the Southern Cape Coast. It is approximately 1½ hours drive from Cape Town. Driving to Betty’s bay incorporates the magnificent R44 coastal drive which commences at Gordon’s Bay and proceeds through to Betty’s Bay. This spectacular route rivals Chapman’s Peak for views and scenery.
Betty’s Bay is host to one of the two mainland African Penguin colonies in South Africa, the other being at Boulders Beach. The African Penguin is also known as the Jackass penguin because of the peculiar braying sound that it makes. A wooden walkway leads from the beach around the headland where the penguins nest, enabling visitors to see the penguins up close.
Betty’s Bay is also known for its high sand dunes on the western side of the town which are used for sand boarding and teaching people to paraglide.
The town itself is unremarkable with a few shops and bars. The beach is fairly windswept, but is undeveloped and is a good place for birdlife.
The Harold Porter National gardens lie just outside the town at the base of the mountains. The Gardens lie at the confluence of 2 natural gorges, the Disa Kloof and Leopards Kloof gorges. These magnificent gardens comprise 10ha of cultivated fynbos garden and a further 190ha of pristine fynbos. Fynbos is a natural shrubland vegetation endemic to this area and is found no where else in the world. The gardens have various nature trails through the gorges and along the sides of the mountain. A small tearoom provides refreshments. Evening concerts are held in the gardens in the summertime. The gardens are open from 8am to 4.30pm on weekdays and from 8am until 5pm on weekends and public holidays.
Tel +27 (0)28 272 9311
