Chappies in the old days

In the days before the remodelling of Chapman's Peak Drive and use of catch fences to trap debris falling from this impressive yet crumbly cliff-face, it was not unusual to come across large rockfalls such as the one in the photo - taken by HWCFA on his way to work one morning. A man with a broom swept all the small stones off the road every day, walking from one end to the other, and doubtless tossed the larger rocks over the edge to add to the scree.
For commuters, it was always a matter of getting from Noordhoek to Hout Bay in the quickest time possible to reduce the likelihood of taking a direct hit from anything that fell. No dawdling along at 40km/h, looking at the swells hitting the foot of the Sentinel or seeing if any fishing boats were going to sea. Just pedal to the metal and get out of there. My personal best was 13 minutes (I commuted via that route to Cape Town for many years), and there is a legend that HWCFA overtook a car when he was towing a large trailer - this is in fact true, there are many tales to tell of his driving expertise.
Having the misfortune to go round CPD behind a car full of tourists is known as going by train, as the touring car is the engine and everyone else is bumper to bumper behind it. The only good overtaking place is the straight bit that is now under a canopy, but as cars have become wider and wing mirrors reach gigantic proportions, this is not as easy as it used to be. Sometimes you just have to relax and enjoy the view.
The catch fences don't always stand up to their job. A few years back, enough rocks hurtled down a ravine to take the road down to the sea, and it was months before the road reopened. So really the idea of a 40km speed limit is not something that resonates with me. A car in front of HWCFA once took a boulder through the engine, so I still maintain that speed is of the essence!