Antoniesgat Trail

View from the Antoniesgat Trail

By Tom · Published Sep. 27th, 2021 · Updated Nov. 24th, 2022

The Antoniesgat trail is short but exciting! The path from Buffels Bay Beach takes you right along the action, with waves hitting the rocky shore and spectacular cliffs. The way back goes through some pristine fynbos.

The view north from Buffels Bay Beach.

Location

Antoniesgat trail is on the Cape Point Peninsula. The hike starts at the car park of Buffels Bay Beach, 10 minutes drive from the entrance gate to the park. The peninsula is about 1-hour drive from the centre of Cape Town. If you don’t have a car, check out the options for car hire* from Cape Town. We went to Cape Point in April 2019 and did this hike after visiting the lighthouse at Cape Point.

Antoniesgat Trail & Buffels Bay Beach Map

Get the route by downloading the .gpx or .kml file below. For navigation with Maps.me on your mobile phone, simply download the .kml file and open to add it to the Maps.me bookmarks.

Tips for Antoniesgat Trail

  • This hike is in the Cape Point section of Table Mountain National Park.
  • The entrance gate hours are 06:00 to 18:00 from October to March and 07:00 to 17:00 from April to September.
  • Adhere to the closing time indicated at the gate to avoid having to pay a fine.
  • Entrance fee: Free for WildCard holders, R85/40 for South Africans, R340/170 for foreigners (adults/children)
  • Cool down in the Buffels Bay tidal pool at the end of the hike.
  • Sunhat, sunscreen and water are needed in sunny weather.
  • For navigation on this hike you can use for instance the offline maps app Maps.me.
  • Check out our Cape Point Guide for all other things to do.

We set out on this hike thinking we’d get to Antoniesgat (Antonie’s hole / cave), because we’d read about it somewhere. But actually, we never found the cave, though still had a very nice walk and made it into a round trip.

Buffels Bay Beach

From the car park at Buffels Bay, we headed south along the road at the coast. Where the road ends, a path continues along the coast. We saw lots of birdlife here, along with antelope dung. You can see all the way down to Cape Point, and the rocky cliffs beforehand.

Start of Antoniesgat trail.

One surprising thing we saw on the shore, was a huge rotting dead whale carcass. We saw it covering some boulders, and at first couldn’t make head or tail of it (literally), but it gave the impression of something dead, and then we saw these huge, huge bones sticking out from one end, and were shocked to realize that it was a huge dead whale. It was very gruesome.

Dead whale.
Whale carcass at Buffels Bay Beach.
Whale carcass at Buffels Bay Beach.
Whale bone.

Antoniesgat

The trail splits with an uphill option through the sand, and a flat option continuing by the ocean. We took the flat path, trying to find the Antoniesgat cave, but didn’t succeed. It might have been further around the cliffs, which would have involved walking on wet slippery rock, with a small amount of scrambling. We didn’t explore this option.

The cliffs at Antoniesgat.
The cliffs near Antoniesgat.
Rocky shore along Antoniesgat trail.

Instead, we went back and up the sandy path to a junction that signposted the visitor centre, and we took this route. Now we were amongst the fynbos, with sugarbirds, quick little colourful sunbirds, and tasty smells.

Sign to Buffelsfontein Visitors Centre.
Fynbos

Tidal Pool at Buffels Bay Beach

When we hit the road, we followed it down and back to the car. If it is nice weather, now would be an ideal time for a swim in the tidal Pool at Buffels Bay. The water was surprisingly warm, and the views are incredible. You could even end the day here with a braai.

Tidal Pool at Buffels Bay Beach.
Tidal Pool at Buffels Bay Beach.

Optional Extension

It is also possible to hike in the other direction along the coast, past a beautiful little beach to Bordjiesrif (another braai and tidal pool swimming area), though there is not a proper trail. The light on the mountains here looks best in the afternoons and is the location from which the Ostrich Trails photo was taken on our front page.


I hope you enjoyed this hike from Buffels Bay Beach. Check out other great beaches, hikes and things to do in our complete Cape Point Guide.

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