“The fairest Cape we saw in the whole circumference of the Earth”, the great navigator Francis Drake exclaimed when he sailed into Table Bay in 1580. Through the centuries, it has been called many names of which "The Cape of Storms" (by Bartholomeu Dias) and "The Cape of Good Hope" (by the King of Portugal) are but two examples. During the 17th and 18th Centuries, sailors called it the "Tavern of the Seas" because fresh produce was grown locally and also shipped in, and later sold, to passing merchant ships. Nowadays, South Africans simply call it “the Cape”, an acknowledgement of its status as the Mother City of South Africa.

The Cape Point Nature Reserve is situated within the Table Mountain National Park.

As part of one of the Floral Kingdoms of the world, there are more species of plants in the Cape Peninsula National Park (7,750 hectares) than the entire British Isles. Some of these species are unique to the Cape, with 30 actually threatened with extinction. The vegetation of the Peninsula is characterised by “fynbos” (proteas and moorland). Moreover, baboons, wildebeest, mountain zebras, porcupines and ostriches as well as abundant birdlife are present in the park.