Betty's Bay lies within the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve. This part of the world is considered the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom due to the exceptional examples of fynbos and has largely remained unspoilt and isolated. Only an hour’s drive from Cape Town, Betty’s Bay is a picturesque seaside village situated along the scenic Clarence Drive Route (R44) between Pringle Bay and Kleinmond. The pretty town is positioned in a narrow strip of land sandwiched between the Kogelberg Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, and bordered by fresh water lakes and the Palmiet River.
Although the Cape Floral Kingdom is the smallest of the world’s six plant kingdoms, it nevertheless has the 2nd largest diversity. The reserve stretches along the coast from Gordon’s Bay through to the town of Kleinmond and inland from the farms of the Elgin Basin through to Grabouw.
There are many outdoor activities that await you in Betty's Bay and surrounds. These include sandboarding down the magnificent Silversands dune, surfing and swimming, hiking the Leopard's Gorge Trail or up to Disakloof waterfall in the botanical gardens. Angling from the surf or the rocks. white water rafting, tubing and canoeing on the Palmiet River or mountain biking through the Kogelberg Nature Reserve.
The botanical garden of Harold Porter which stretches from the mountain-top down to the sea, is known as ‘little Kirstenbosch’ and contains some of the best examples of local fynbos, including proteas, restios and over 50 species of ericas. The garden can easily be covered in three to five hours along pretty laid-out paths and hillside trails. For the more adventurous, Leopard’s Gorge offers a more taxing hike.
The penguin colony at Stony Point is one of four mainland colonies in South Africa and declared a municipal nature reserve in July 2002. Since then this important seabird colony has grown in size due to the breeding of both the endangered penguins and cormorants. The best time of day to view them is in the late afternoon, when the penguins return from fishing
