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Chapman's Peak Drive
Hout Bay district, Western Cape

Date:1915-1922
Type:Road
Status:Extant

 


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Coordinates:
34°04'23.19" S 18°22'00.16" E Alt: 159m

Chapman’s Peak Drive on the Atlantic Coast between Hout Bay and Noordhoek in the Cape Peninsula is one of the most spectacular marine drives in the world.

Initially constructed during the First World War, this 9km route with its 114 curves, skirts Chapman's Peak, the 593m high southerly extension of Constantia Berg, and follows the rocky coastline to unfold breathtaking views in both directions.

Chapman’s Peak is named after John Chapman, the Captain's mate of an English ship, the Consent. The peak which looms overhead was not named after a governor or brave mountaineer, but a lowly ship's pilot. In 1607 the skipper of the British ship Contest found his vessel becalmed in what is now Hout Bay and sent his pilot, John Chapman, to row ashore in the hope of finding provisions. The pilot later recorded the bay as Chapman's Chaunce (chance) and the name stuck, becoming official on all East India charts.

(Chapman's Peak Drive Website. Submitted by Dorothy Adendorff, accessed 2018 12 07)

See also History of Chapman's Peak Drive.

The VOC East Fort by LM THIBAULT is located along this drive.


Books that reference Chapman's Peak Drive

Potgieter, DJ (Editor-in-chief). 1971. Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa [SESA] Volume 3 Cal-Dev. Cape Town: Nasou. pg 167
Ross, Graham. 2002. The romance of Cape mountain passes. Cape Town: David Philip. pg 147-148, 149-153
Whitehead, Marion . 2018. South Africa's Favourite Passes + Poorts. Maitland: Map Studio. pg 62-67