Cape Point
Coastal and sandstone caves at the southern tip of the Peninsula — 20 caves in database
By Peter Swart
November 2001
Introduction
The Cape Peninsula stretches from Table Bay in the north to Cape Point in the south, with the Fish Hoek Valley roughly halfway down. For the purposes of this article, the Southern Peninsula is considered as everything to the south of the Fish Hoek Valley.
Although there is extensive karst development in the Table Mountain Sandstone of the Southern Peninsula, the area has not been well explored by cavers, and not many caves have been recorded. Most of the caves that have been described in this area are sea caves, and many are very difficult to get to, and are extremely dangerous, even when the sea is calm.
Cave Names
As most of the caves described in this report are not marked on any maps, many of the cave names have been made up for no other reason than to give the cave a name. Where the caves are marked on maps, or names were known by locals, these names were used.
Bibliography
Durrheim, G.P., Durrheim, R.J., Martini, J.E.J. (1994) "Sea Caves Near Knysna" Bull. S.A. Spel. Assoc. Volume 33 pp27–35
Gibbs, D. (1995) Fax 04/95 from Rondevlei Nature Reserve
Hitchcock, A.N. CPSS Meet report, 5 September 1999 (unpublished, CPSS archives)
Theron, J.N. (1984) The Geology of Cape Town and Environs
Swart, P.G, Cave Research Meet Report, 20 July 1997 (unpublished, CPSS archives)
Caves in this area
| Cave name | Length | Grade | Survey date | Survey / assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antonies Gat Cave | 80m | 5C | 1996-11-00 | Survey |
| Balcony Cave | 70m | 5C | 1999-10-09 | Survey |
| Batsata Cove Cave | — | — | — | — |
| Black Ball Cave | 44m | 5D | 2000-02-29 | Survey |
| Boiler Room Cave | — | — | — | — |
| Coin Cave | — | — | — | — |
| Cormorant Cave | 50m | 5D | 1999-10-10 | Survey |
| Granite 1 Cave | 53m | 5D | 1996-09-22 | Survey |
| Granite 2 Cave | 35m | 5D | 1996-09-22 | Survey |
| Granite 3 Cave | 95m | 5D | 1996-09-22 | Survey |
| Hi and Dry Cave | 30m | 5D | 2000-02-29 | Survey |
| Holmans Cave | — | — | — | — |
| Leopard Skull Cave | 81m | 5D | 1997-07-20 | Survey 📷 Photos |
| Puff Adder Cave | — | — | — | — |
| Rooikrans Cave | — | — | — | — |
| Slimy Boulder Cave | 130m | 5D | 1999-10-10 | Survey Survey |
| The Geyser Cave | — | — | — | — |
| The Oscillator Cave | — | — | — | — |
| Thunder Cave | — | — | — | — |
| Whale Bone Cave | 37m | 5C | 1999-10-09 | Survey |
Photographs
On this page
Province overview
Exact cave locations are not published on this site. contact us to request location data for fieldwork.