Cape Town, located on the Cape Peninsula at the southernmost tip of Africa, is a bustling tourist attraction with stunning landscapes, hospitable locals, and a rich history. Cape Town is distinctive in its own particular manner, much like all cities. Capetonians are fiercely proud of the unique languages, cultures, food, landscape, fashion, and attitudes that are present here.
These six bizarre Cape Town facts could surprise you.
1. The Noon Gun One of Cape Town’s Oldest Traditions
Tourists who hear a loud explosion upon entering the Cape Town Central Business District may receive a terrible shock. But there’s no reason to worry. The only thing the Noon Gun does is sound the lunchtime alarm for everyone in the City Bowl. On Signal Hill, which offers a view of Cape Town and the harbor, is where the gun (and its backup) are stationed.
There are a few other towns in the globe that have a custom of shooting a cannon at noon, but Cape Town is the oldest. According to legend, the custom began in 1806, when ships used it to calibrate their marine chronometers. They relied on the puff of smoke because of the delay in sound.
Of course, more than 200 years of tradition have resulted in a few incidents. Once, when it mistakenly discharged, the rammer was left inside the barrel. This caused the weapon to fly into the city, where it struck and killed a horse. The gun also fired an hour and a half early due to a spider messing with the timing system.
In 2005, both the primary and backup guns malfunctioned, marking the first time since the Noon Gun’s debut that it has not fired.
2. Unique Wildlife Abounds in the Mother City
The Cape Peninsula is covered in natural reserves and wildlife preserves from Table Mountain all the way down to Cape Point. Depending on the animal that has just strayed into their yard, some wildlife even lives outside of these areas and ventures into the suburbs, giving the residents quite a surprise.
Rock hyraxes, sometimes known as dassies, reside among the crags on the summit of Table Mountain. Though it is very natural to initially mistake these adorable tiny creatures for rodents because they resemble very large hamsters, they are in a league of their own. On the evolutionary tree, the elephant is actually their closest relative.
The most deadly animals include baboons and cape cobras, which occasionally make it into the suburbs. Baboons wander the wilds of the peninsula and are a popular tourist attraction. Despite the rarity of actual injuries, many tourists are aware of the aggressive character of these huge monkeys because of their popularity at Cape Point.
It’s wise to lock car doors and hide any food if you’re driving to Cape Point. Baboons climbing into people’s cars and acting aggressively have happened frequently. Showing a rubber snake to them is a certain technique to persuade them to leave you alone.
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3. Cape Town has a Big Movie Industry
Cape Town is the site of numerous American and British films and television shows. There is a wide variety of landscapes in the city and its surroundings that can be exploited to trick viewers into thinking they are seeing a movie that was shot in Los Angeles, Miami, Scotland, South America, or even Russia.
In the last two decades, the Cape Town film industry has grown significantly. Filmmakers like Clint Eastwood and Ridley Scott have shot movies there due to the region’s professional industry and lower production costs.
Films like Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), Tomb Raider (2018), and Lord of War (2005) were either entirely or partially shot in Cape Town, as were well-known television series like Outlander (season 3) (2014-), Black Sails (2014-2017), Homeland (season 4) (2011-2020), and Raised by Wolves (2020-2022).
4. Cape Town Hosts Many Famous Celebrities
Numerous stars who came to Cape Town to appear in films and television shows also fell in love with the city and frequented it; some even bought homes there. Cape Town has drawn the attention of big motion pictures and well-known actors, as well as other celebrities who occasionally turn up in the Mother City (so termed since it was the first European settlement in South Africa).
Unsurprisingly, Cape Town has a sizable area with many Michelin-star restaurants and luxurious hotels that cater to the affluent segment of the population. As celebrities have favorite hangouts, Cape Town has several promising prospects for spotting them.
Camps Bay, a suburb of Cape Town, is the wealthiest region of South Africa. It’s understandable why the villas are so pricey in this beachside area of Cape Town’s Western Seaboard given the stunning view there. There have been sightings of David Hasselhoff, Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom, and Zac Efron.
5. Robben Island Was a Notorious Maximum Security Prison
Robben Island, a prison where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years during the apartheid era, is located in the dark, perilous waters to the north of Cape Town. The island was called after the seals that resided there and its colonial history began as a refueling port for Portuguese and Dutch ships.
The Dutch word for seals is Robben. The Dutch soon came to understand Robben Island’s potential as a prison. The government of Cape Town began transporting political prisoners to the island around the end of the 17th century.
Robben Island served as both a prison and a colony for lepers in the 19th century. Lepers started going there freely in 1845, but as leprosy cases increased and more patients were transported to the island and quarantined, their freedom of movement was restricted starting in 1892.
When the island became a maximum security jail for political prisoners in 1961, that is when it gained its most notoriety. Following the end of apartheid, the island and the jail were both designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
6. Getting to the Top of Table Mountain is Easy
The recognizable landmark known as Table Mountain provides one of the largest and most stunning backdrops for any city in the world. It is one of the seven world natural wonders. There is a far simpler way to experience the view of Cape Town from the summit than it is to hike to the top, which requires some fitness and a good several hours.
Up to 65 passengers can ride in a cable car, which provides a 360-degree perspective of the city as it ascends and falls. The journey to the top just takes a few minutes, and once there, the views are breathtaking.
However, it is substantially colder and frequently snows up there in the winter a kilometer (0.62 miles) above the city. The locals refer to the summit’s frequent cloud cover as “The Tablecloth,” and these clouds frequently tumble down the mountain, producing a tremendous and breathtaking “waterfall” effect.
Capetonians treat their mountain with great care and respect because they are so fiercely proud of it. The flora are exclusive to this region of the world, and the Cape Floral Region, of which Table Mountain is a part, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Around 9,000 indigenous species, known as “fynbos,” are present in the Cape Floral Region.
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