Ou Kaapse Weg

Last updated

Ou Kaapse Weg
Ou Kaapse Weg towards Somerset West, Cape Town.jpg
View from the top of the pass towards False Bay
Elevation 315 m (1,033 ft)
Traversed byM64 road
Location Cape Peninsula, Western Cape, South Africa
Range Steenberg
Coordinates 34°05′15″S18°25′17″E / 34.0874°S 18.4214°E / -34.0874; 18.4214
Topo map 3418AB
OpenStreetMap Cape Town small.svg
Red pog.svg
Ou Kaapse Weg
Location in the Cape Town metropolitan area

Ou Kaapse Weg (Afrikaans for Old Cape Way), numbered as route M64, is a mountain pass in the Cape Peninsula that connects the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town with the Fish Hoek Valley. It traverses the Steenberg mountains and passes through the Silvermine Nature Reserve. Ou Kaapse Weg is one of three routes to the Fish Hoek Valley: the others are Chapman's Peak Drive along the Atlantic coast and Main Road along the False Bay coast.

Contents

History

Despite its name, the pass was only constructed in 1968, by the Divisional Council of the Cape. [1]

Route

Ou Kaapse Weg begins at a T-junction with Steenberg Road in Westlake, close to the southern end of the M3 expressway. It rapidly ascends the northern face of the Steenberg mountains, through two hairpin bends, to the summit at an elevation of 315 metres (1,033 ft). [1] Near to the summit are entrance gates to the Silvermine Nature Reserve. The pass then descends along the valley of the Silvermine River, passing by Noordhoek to end at a junction with Kommetjie Road (M6 road), which provides access to Kommetjie, Fish Hoek and other places in the Fish Hoek Valley.

In 2012, Ou Kaapse Weg suffered severe traffic congestion because it was used as an alternative route to avoid construction work on Main Road between Muizenberg and Fish Hoek. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two Oceans Marathon</span> Annual marathon in Cape Town, South Africa

The Two Oceans Marathon is a 56 kilometres (35 mi) ultramarathon and 21 kilometres (13 mi) half-marathon held annually in Cape Town, South Africa on the Saturday of the Easter weekend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kommetjie</span> Seaside village in the Western Cape, South Africa

Kommetjie is a small town near Cape Town, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It lies about halfway down the west coast of the Cape Peninsula, at the southern end of the long wide beach that runs northwards towards Chapman's Peak and Noordhoek. The community of Ocean View is located to its immediate south east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Peninsula</span> Rocky peninsula in the Western Cape, South Africa

The Cape Peninsula is a generally mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. On the northern end is Table Mountain, overlooking Table Bay and the City Bowl of Cape Town, South Africa. The peninsula is 52 km long from Mouille point in the north to Cape Point in the south. The Peninsula has been an island on and off for the past 5 million years, as sea levels fell and rose with the ice age and interglacial global warming cycles of, particularly, the Pleistocene. The last time that the Peninsula was an island was about 1.5 million years ago. Soon afterwards it was joined to the mainland by the emergence from the sea of the sandy area now known as the Cape Flats. The towns and villages of the Cape Peninsula and Cape Flats, and the undeveloped land of the rest of the peninsula now form part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. The Cape Peninsula is bounded to the north by Table Bay, to the west by the open Atlantic Ocean, and to the east by False Bay in the south and the Cape Flats in the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fish Hoek</span> Place in Western Cape, South Africa

Fish Hoek is a coastal town at the eastern end of the Fish Hoek Valley on the False Bay side of the Cape Peninsula in the Western Cape, South Africa. Previously a separate municipality, Fish Hoek is now part of the City of Cape Town. As a coastal suburb of Cape Town, Fish Hoek is popular as a residence for commuters, retired people and holidaymakers alike. The traditional industries of 'trek' fishing and angling coexist with the leisure pursuits of surfing, although nearby Kommetjie is usually favoured, sailing and sunbathing. There is an active lifeguard community who utilise the beach and bay for training.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muizenberg</span> Coastal town in the Western Cape, South Africa

Muizenberg is a beach-side town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is situated where the shore of the Cape Peninsula curves round to the east on the False Bay coast. It is considered to be the main surfing spot in Cape Town and is currently home to a surfing community, centered on the popular 'Surfer's Corner'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silvermine Nature Reserve</span>

Silvermine Nature Reserve forms part of the Table Mountain National Park in Cape Town, South Africa. It covers the section of the Cape Peninsula mountain range from the Kalk Bay mountains through to Constantiaberg. The area is a significant conservation area for the indigenous fynbos vegetation, which is of the montane cone-bush type at this location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noordhoek, Cape Town</span> Place in Western Cape, South Africa

Noordhoek is a seaside town in the Western Cape, South Africa, located below Chapman's Peak on the west coast of the Cape Peninsula and is approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) to the south of Cape Town. The name "Noordhoek" was taken from Dutch and literally means "north corner". It was given this name in 1743 as being the northern corner of the Slangkop farm. The first permanent resident of European origin is Jaco Malan who built his house there. In 1857, the region was divided into six plots, most of which were bought by a single family, that of the de Villiers. Noordhoek nevertheless remains a predominantly rural area where farmers grow vegetables to supply ships calling at Simon's Town. It is best known for its shoreline and its long, wide, sandy beach, which stretches south to the neighbouring village of Kommetjie. Near the southern end of this beach is the wreck of the steamship "Kakapo", which ran aground in 1900, when the captain mistook Chapman's Peak for the Cape of Good Hope and put the helm over to port.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Table Mountain National Park</span> A nature conservation area on the Cape Peninsula in Cape Town, South Africa

Table Mountain National Park, previously known as the Cape Peninsula National Park, is a national park in Cape Town, South Africa, proclaimed on 29 May 1998, for the purpose of protecting the natural environment of the Table Mountain Chain, and in particular the rare fynbos vegetation. The park is managed by South African National Parks. The property is included as part of the UNESCO Cape Floral Region World Heritage Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M3 (Cape Town)</span> Expressway in Cape Town, South Africa, between the City Bowl to the Southern Suburbs

The M3 is an expressway in Cape Town, South Africa, connecting the upper part of the City Bowl to the Southern Suburbs and ending in Tokai. For most of its route it parallels - though further to the south and west - the M4, which was the original road connecting central Cape Town with the settlements to the south.

The Cape Town Cycle Tour is an annual cycle race hosted in Cape Town, South Africa, usually 109 km (68 mi) long. It is the first event outside Europe to be included in the Union Cycliste Internationale's Golden Bike Series. South Africa hosts some of the largest, by the number of entrants, sporting events in the world with three being the largest of their type. The Cape Town Cycle Tour, with as many as 35 000 cyclists taking part, is the world's largest individually timed cycle race. The other two are the world's largest ultra-marathon running event, the Comrades Marathon, and the world's largest open water swim, the Midmar Mile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Fold Belt</span> Late Paleozoic fold and thrust belt in southwestern South Africa

The Cape Fold Belt is a fold and thrust belt of late Paleozoic age, which affected the sequence of sedimentary rock layers of the Cape Supergroup in the southwestern corner of South Africa. It was originally continuous with the Ventana Mountains near Bahía Blanca in Argentina, the Pensacola Mountains, the Ellsworth Mountains and the Hunter-Bowen orogeny in eastern Australia. The rocks involved are generally sandstones and shales, with the shales persisting in the valley floors while the erosion resistant sandstones form the parallel ranges, the Cape Fold Mountains, which reach a maximum height of 2325 m at Seweweekspoortpiek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Suburbs, Cape Town</span> Sub-region of Cape Town, South Africa

The Southern Suburbs are a group of Anglophone suburbs in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. This group includes, among others, Observatory, Mowbray, Pinelands, Rosebank, Rondebosch, Rondebosch East, Newlands, Claremont, Lansdowne, Kenilworth, Bishopscourt, Constantia, Wynberg, Ottery, Plumstead, Diep River, Bergvliet and Tokai. The area is also commonly referred to as the Cape Peninsula, often including the towns further South such as Fish Hoek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hottentots Holland Mountains</span> Mountain range in the Western Cape, South Africa.

The Hottentots Holland Mountains are part of the Cape Fold Belt in the Western Cape, South Africa. The mountain range forms a barrier between the Cape Town metropolitan area and the southern Overberg coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Line (Cape Town)</span> Metrorail railway line in Cape Town, South Africa

The Southern Line is a commuter rail line operated by Metrorail Western Cape, connecting Cape Town station in central Cape Town, South Africa with the Southern Suburbs and the towns on the west coast of False Bay, terminating in Simon's Town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constantia Nek</span>

Constantia Nek is a low pass over the Table Mountain range in Cape Town, South Africa, linking Constantia to Hout Bay in the west. It is one of three passes connecting Hout Bay to the rest of the city, and, with Ou Kaapse Weg is one of the two passes over the mountain range between the city centre and the Fish Hoek valley.

The Fish Hoek Valley is situated in the Cape Peninsula, eighteen miles south of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the town of Fish Hoek on the False Bay coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Cape Town</span> List of links to articles about Cape Town on Wikipedia

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Cape Town:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M4 (Cape Town)</span> Metropolitan route in the City of Cape Town, South Africa

The M4 is a long metropolitan route in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality in South Africa. It connects the Cape Town CBD with the Cape of Good Hope via Wynberg, Muizenberg and Fish Hoek. Originally, it was the main route connecting the Cape Town CBD with the Southern Suburbs and is thus named Main Road for much of its length. From the CBD to Kirstenhof, it is parallel to the M3 Freeway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M6 (Cape Town)</span> Metropolitan route in the City of Cape Town, South Africa

The M6 is a short metropolitan route in Cape Town, South Africa. It connects the Cape Town CBD with Glencairn on the False Bay coast via Sea Point, Camps Bay and Hout Bay. It is an alternative route to the M4 for travel between Cape Town CBD and Glencairn, with the M6 passing to the west of Table Mountain.

De Oude Weg is a small residential area of Cape Town on the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, situated between Kommetjie, Fish Hoek and Capri Village. It is in the suburb of Sunnydale and is situated midway between Kommetjie and Fish Hoek. Translated from Dutch, "de oude weg" means "the old road" which refers to the old dirt wagon track which, in bye gone days, passed through there.

References

  1. 1 2 "Ou Kaapse Weg (Old Cape Road), Cape Town". Mountain Passes of South Africa. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  2. Yeld, John (7 December 2012). "Crisis meeting over Ou Kaapse Weg". Cape Argus. Retrieved 6 July 2014.