Planning your own trip to South Africa? Read more about my Garden Route itinerary here.

Today I kick off Day 1 of driving along the Garden Route, departing Cape Town and heading south towards the shore along False Bay. I don’t know it yet, but today’s coastal views will be the best of the whole trip — we’re talking epic ocean vistas and towering mountains tumbling towards the sea, with a glorious sunset to boot. In fact there’s so much to share from Day 1 that this post will cover the drive from Cape Town to Hermanus, and I’ll be back tomorrow to detail my afternoon in Hermanus and drive to Gansbaai.

***I have to confess that the timeline of my actual Day 1 itinerary is slightly different than the one I recommended yesterday — it seems unwieldy to explain here, but if I don’t then you’ll wonder why I have photos of the sunset before I even hit Hermanus! The reason is because my overland tour guides Riaan & Juliana have rented a house near Gansbaai and offer to host me for the night. On Day 1 I get a very late start driving out of Cape Town (we’re talking after lunch) so I have to skip Hermanus and go right to see them in Gansbaai. Then the following day I drive back to see Hermanus — so if you’re keeping track, it actually takes me TWO days to complete Day 1. But if you’re not visiting friends in the area and if you leave Cape Town at a decent hour, then my suggested itinerary makes way more sense than what I actually did. You’ll arrive in Hermanus by mid-afternoon — more than enough time to walk around and get dinner before continuing on to Gansbaai for the night.

Once I hit the water, I take Baden Powell Drive. This road mirrors the coastline and it’s easy to pull over on the sand and meander out to the beach. There’s no parking signs and I’m hesitant to leave the car for too long, but I venture out to get some photos of the water.

There’s an inlet separating me from the ocean, but that just adds more depth to the landscape — in the photo below there is sand, then an inlet, then more sand, then the ocean, and finally mountains off in the distance. Pretty spectacular, right?

A little further down I stop again. Now the inlet has disappeared and I can walk right up to the waves.

Those mountains in the photos above and below are too far away for me to identify now, but I’ll see them up close after I round Gordon’s Bay — those mountains are my favorite part of today’s drive for reasons that will become clear by the end of this post.

And I think that skyline in the distance is a city called Strand.

Just beyond Strand is the seaside town of Gordon’s Bay, which I’m told is lovely and worth a visit — though I’m not sure where to pull over. I end up at a marina on the far east side of town and park my car to go for a walk.

Now on foot, I follow an inland street towards the direction of town — I really don’t know what I’m looking for at this point — and I stumble upon a beach path. I keep going on that for a bit before eventually turning back towards the car (it’s maybe 25 minutes roundtrip), and the views are great the whole way. The next six images are from that beach path.

If I had to guess, those buildings in the distance below are near the town center of Gordon’s Bay:

Perhaps I missed something special in Gordon’s Bay proper, but I am satisfied with these beachside views on the outskirts of town. However this could be a good stop for coffee or lunch depending on what time you pass through here.

Now back in the car, I continue driving along the coast… but almost right away there more parking lots for tourists to pull over and admire the view. So the next few shots are of Gordon’s Bay as seen from east of the town.

See the marina in the photo below — the ship masts are poking above the water? That’s where I parked for my earlier walk.

Again, those tall buildings along the skyline are in Strand:

At this point on the map, Route 44 winds south along the coast. I spot a preview of some incredible scenery in the distance.

I’m about to hit the best scenery of the trip — and the area isn’t even properly marked on Google Maps! This particular bay doesn’t seem to have a name, but it’s along a larger area called Kogelberg Nature Reserve. 2017 UPDATE: I believe this stretch is called Clarens Drive. I take a screenshot of my iPhone to indicate exactly where I am:

Bam. How spectacular is this sight?!

The whole area seems largely uninhabited — there are rugged beaches, but they are all empty. How fantastic that a place of such overwhelming beauty has remained undeveloped for tourism in 2014 (the time of my trip), free for everyone to enjoy without resorts or buildings dotting the coast? It feels wild and wonderful to be here.

I spot one lone fisherman below as a monster wave approaches:

This is paradise. This is South Africa.

(I think I just came up with a new slogan for their tourism board — speaking of which, have you seen the commercial for South Africa that’s aired in U.S. movie theaters these the past few months? It shows a guy enjoying the highlights of this incredible country, and then we realize in the end that he’s blind. And it doesn’t matter; South Africa is so beautiful that even a visually impaired person can see it. It’s worth watching.)

I am one ecstatic traveler. This is my new happy place.

Here’s my good little rental car. I tend to turn on a dime if I spot a good viewpoint, and she obeys every time without fuss (i.e. squealing breaks). She’s a trooper.

Objects in the rearview mirror…

Sunset is imminent. I press on a little further (just around the bend of this curve) and position myself for photos.

I watch sunset from the shore of Rooi-Els. Mother Nature puts on quite a show. Didn’t even charge admission.

Shortly after the sun goes down, the sky begins to glow. I’ve already started driving inland a bit (following the main road to Hermanus) but I turn around when I see the sky turn pink and snap a few more pics.

Now in my actual timeline, this is where I put the pedal to the metal and rush past Hermanus to Gansbaai for a fun evening with my overland guides Riaan and Juliana. But again, for my suggested itinerary on Day 1, you’d likely arrive in Hermanus by mid-afternoon — maybe 3pm. Perfect time to walk around town or hop on a whale watching cruise, then get dinner at one of many restaurants in town before continuing on to Gansbaai for the night.