We cannot wait to show you around Cape Town on a kayak!
Our guided and escorted paddling adventures are targeted at individuals wanting to see the Cape Peninsula from the water. Our ADVENTURE tours provide a significantly different perspective to an onshore-based sightseeing tour. Except for the Miller’s Run, no paddling experience is required, but you need a sense of adventure. These are fully guided excursions in which we provide information on the surrounds through its history and the ecologically sensitive nature of the environmental life.
Tours span about three hours of elapsed time, with close to two full hours on the water. We provide kayaks, paddles and life jackets. The Mazowe doubles come from the stable Vagabond range.
Our Cape Kayak Tours include the following awesome venues:
Simon’s Town Coastline Tour
Zandvlei Estuary Nature Reserve Tour, Muizenberg
Cape Point from Buffels Bay Tour
Duiker Island Tour, Hout Bay
Three Anchor Bay Tour, Greenpoint
Miller’s Run, False Bay
The Simon’s Town Coastline Tour with its variations is Paddle Experience’s most popular ADVENTURE tour, followed by the Zandvlei Estuary Nature Reserve Tour. Tours are scheduled year round, although only in weather windows when the environmental conditions are suitable.
Having done an ADVENTURE tour with us, our intention is that you join us on an EXPLORE package or sign up for a LEARN activity.
SIMON’S TOWN COASTLINE
We tour out and back from Long Beach, Simon’s Town. This is an easy and safe excursion through the yacht basin and the extended harbour area, which is rich in naval architecture, boats and history. The small craft harbour is the meeting point for many other on-and-off the water activities such as diving, sailing, and onshore and offshore sightseeing. There are plenty of restaurants and tourist activities in the precinct. The NSRI has a launching facility in the yacht basin.
Depending on the wind and swell, our route can include a stretch of coastline to either side of the yacht basin, either down the beach towards the remains of the Clan Stuart shipwreck or outside the harbour wall towards Boulders Beach. It could also include circumnavigating Arc Rock, half a kilometre offshore and possibly Roman Rock Lighthouse, one and half kilometres offshore. You should see penguins, cape fur seals and perhaps sunfish. You should also see seagulls, cormorants and oystercatchers.
ZANDVLEI ESTUARY NATURE RESERVE
Situated in the southern peninsula with quick access from central Cape Town, Zandvlei Estuary Nature Reserve is a popular destination for recreational and more serious paddlers. Our excursion takes you on a leisurely cruise on the flat expanse of the estuary, where you can spot abundant birdlife, including coots, herons and perhaps flamingos in season.
Starting from the open estuary area, we follow a route through the rambling man-made channels of the marina with its assembly of waterfront homes. There is always plenty of activity on the water in the form of fishing, kayaking, sailing, windsurfing and kite foiling. Conditions at Zandvlei vary with the wind, which can sometimes be strong. Tours are mostly scheduled for the early part of the day when conditions are best.
CAPE POINT FROM BUFFELS BAY
Paddling to Cape Point and seeing the iconic lighthouse from a kayak is a never-forget experience. This is a true space of open sea, considered by many as the juncture between the Indian Ocean to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Our out and back 10km excursion starts inside the Table Mountain National Park from Buffels Bay, where launching and beaching is relatively protected.
Paddle Experience offers this tour only when the conditions are suitable, because the prevailing SW swell and SE wind at the point can make the water extremely bumpy and uncomfortable. The tour is targeted at the more adventurous individual, but is considered safe on our stable craft.
Access to Table Mountain National Park requires a permit or visitor fee.
DUIKER ISLAND
Around the corner from Hout Bay beach and beyond the Sentinel is Duiker Island, home to a large colony of cape fur seals. There is always activity of one sort or another on or near the island and in the surrounding water. In the space known as Bakleiplaas below the Sentinel, the prevailing SW swell creates significant rebounds off the coastline, which is an interesting space of open sea for a paddler on a narrow craft, where the wind and sea can dominate.
We offer tours to this destination when the conditions are suitable, launching and beaching from the beach adjacent to Mariners’ Wharf. When the swell, wind and time permit, we can proceed past Duiker Island around the corner into Maori Bay to view the Bos400 wreck, a large floating crane that washed ashore in 1994 while on tow around the cape peninsula.
THREE ANCHOR BAY
The inlet at Three Anchor Bay provides access to the colder waters on the Atlantic side of the cape peninsula. Access is from Greenpoint, close to the Mouille Point Lighthouse. This is an ideal excursion in relatively small SW swell and light winds. Provided we stay near the coast, this stretch of coastline is protected in a strong SE wind by the wind shadow created by Table Mountain and Lions Head, which dominate the skyline.
The route we follow is southerly, past the Sea Point promenade and built up Bantry Bay area. Conditions and time permitting, we could paddle as far as Clifton and beach before making our way back to the launch point. Besides viewing the iconic Table Mountain from the sea, there is a good chance that you could see dolphins, seals, and perhaps sunfish and whales in season.
MILLER’S RUN
We offer escorted Miller’s Run excursions, from Miller’s Point to Fish Hoek Beach, a stretch of 12km of pure downwind. The prevailing wind in summer is SE and NW in winter, when we do the route in reverse. This activity can be challenging to extreme in conditions of highly integrated wind and ocean swell. Doing downwind becomes compelling once you get the hang of it.
Participants can dictate the nature and extent of the excursion that they are comfortable with, also choosing to do the run in a double or single surfski. Paddlers are escorted singly or in small groups by expert downwinders to ensure safety and promote interactivity. This excursion is not for novices, and participants will be screened to ensure a sufficient level of competency. The experience gained from several excursions with us should boost your confidence sufficiently to tackle the run without being escorted.
CALL US FOR INFORMATION ON THIS EXCURSION
Contact Tracy on 071 174 3099 or email tracy@paddleexperience.co.za for more details.