SO much to see, so little time to see it. Will it be possible to cover all the headline sights for which South Africa's Cape region is known in just one week?

The geographical drama of Table Mountain and Cape of Good Hope reaching out into waters separating the Atlantic and Indian Oceans . . . chilling memories of Robben Island where Nelson Mandella and hundreds of others suffered harsh deprivations of an apartheid prison . . . the depressingly poor townships that continue to expand in size as people migrate there from remote villages.

Who hasn't heard about famous vineyard estates reaching back to another century? And certainly there must be ample time to view the wealth of craft markets where talented merchants offer a treasury of products.

Definitely, I'll want to retrace footsteps of Cecil Rhodes, still increasingly controversial a century after his death. That's just for starters. How to do it all?

Yes, you can rent a car and go out to some areas on your own, but drivers are warned to be cautious because of the country's excessively high accident statistics and crime rate. It was actually someone in government who suggested either joining a small tour group or hiring a car and driver through the hotel or a travel agency to certain areas.

All the half-dozen guide books I referenced, from Lonely Planet and Insight Guides to London-published Rough Guides, spoke of an increase in crime in major cities (with Johannesburg heading the list). Unfortunately, that's also true around the world.

They all recommended taking sensible precautions, also true anywhere, and dressing down so as not to attract attention. Make local inquiries about safety and listen to them. One guidebook related feuds between taxi companies that actually resulted in massacres.

Interestingly, several guidebooks also suggested letting people you meet know you are not South African so as not to be swept up into prejudices that still exist.

For an interesting overview, a drive up Signal Hill is a good place to start for an orientation that stretches to the horizon. It also shows how unspoiled scenery can be successfully incorporated into a busy, thriving city. It's that factor that accounts for a great deal of Cape Town's charm. With the ocean in its front yard and a dramatic mountain range for backbone, there are all sorts of photogenic valleys, bays and backwaters.

It's going to be a busy day, first taking the modern Swiss-made rotating cable car to the summit of Table Mountain, then dashing down to the tip of the Cape. No less a world traveller than Sir Francis Drake, approaching shore in his Golden Hind in 1580 proclaimed it "the fairest Cape we saw in the whole circumference of the earth".

INTERESTINGLY, Insight Guides labelled Cape Town "a Molotov cocktail of first and third worlds", a thought-provoking analysis repeated in several books. Yet it somehow manages to be sophisticated, cosmopolitan and business-like on the one hand and folksy, friendly and small town on the other . . . all of which is part of its charm.

We're off across town for the cable car station, plenty busy for this very comfortable spring season, but guaranteed to be super-crowded come summer. I've travelled via many a cable car around the world, but none so cutting edge as this one, fit for a James Bond action sequence as it constantly revolves like some rooftop restaurant giving travellers a 360-degree-nngle view. My round-rip ticket cost 60 rand, about US $7.50.

When winds reach a certain velocity, the "Rotair" cable car ceases to operate and it's close to that on my ascent. Skies are bright and clear at the summit with no sign of "the tablecloth", a cloud formation so described by locals, that sometimes hangs over the summit. But it's "hold-onto-your-hat time" and get a firm grip on the camera so it doesn't blur the image by moving.

There's a wonderfully cosy summit gift shop, once a classic stone cottage restaurant that looked like a transplant from some English or Scots seaside village. The view from there takes your breath away. And what fun . . . there are two racks of men's colourful stockings decorated with South African wildlife and traditional emblems. Later, more similar ones are found on sale in the shop below and at least a dozen make an unusual purchase at $3.75 to $5 each.

A fair-sized restaurant walled with picture windows is busy, but time exploring the summit is too precious to linger. I did pause long enough to buy a bottle of a local liqueur in an attractive decanter container the shape of South Africa. It can sit next to a similar Napoleon bust from Corsica containing brandy.

Table Mountain has 1,500 species of plants and unique geology combining several rock types. Trails with interpretive signs make it both scenic and educational. The bulk of the mountain has layer upon layer of erosion-resistant light grey sandstone, along with shale and siltstone on a foundation of granite. Any prospective traveller will want to read up on Cape Town's history before they arrive. Yes, it's complicated, but the reason for its choice as a harbour is easily understandable from this summit.

Not only was its geographic location important, so was its fresh water supply. Jan van Riebeeck knew what he was doing with establishment of the Dutch East India Company "refreshment station" here in 1652 for scurvy-ravaged crews. It was not the company's original intent to colonise this area, but to establish a secure base for shelter and restocking supplies.

Vast numbers of ships sailed into this haven en route to and from the East. It soon became a favoured place to take on fuel wood, fresh meat and vegetables.

This is also where trouble started with far-reaching consequences. Slaves, both black and Muslim, were brought in from places like Mozambique, Indonesia, Madagascar and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), and a few Dutch and German Calvinist settlers who began farming to supply fresh food to the ships. Passage was also paid for French Huguenots fleeing France for religious reasons.

So much happened here that one needs a full semester history course to sort it all out. We'll attempt to unravel some of it next week retracing footsteps of Cecil Rhodes.

MEANWHILE, we're off to the Cape of Good Hope, often called "Cape of Storms" for tempestuous seas creating treacherous currents that were disastrous for many a ship. For a good part of the way we follow the shore road down through Muizenberg, where Rhodes had a beach cottage, past Kalk Bay, Fish Hoek into Simon's Town.

The country's third oldest European settlement, it's home to a Naval Dockyard complete with colonial buildings and a chequered past. It was originally founded by Dutch East India Company as a winter anchorage and Muslim slaves where brought here from the East Indies in the early 1700s to build a naval base for the Dutch.

Lord Nelson convalesced here when he was a young midshipman returning home in 1776. The British captured it and used the installation as a sort of "launching pad" for their invasion of Cape Town. It was a British base up to 1956 when it became a South African naval base.

There's now a museum recalling its colourful past. Amusing is a section devoted to the Royal Navy mascot Able Seaman Just Nuisance, a Great Dane adopted during World War Two. He is said to have enjoyed his pint with the sailors and was frequently seen with them on leave in Cape Town. A statue of him was erected in the village.

Now really dramatic landscapes begin in earnest. Rugged, rocky mountains rise up from the sea. There's a bleak, desolate moodiness to the scene . . . yet it's gorgeous in a rocky, Outer Hebrides-like sense. The feeling of a truly marvellous remoteness is hard to explain, but magical. There's even a bit of American West flavour, totally open and unspoiled.

As you near Cape Point, the mountains rise sheer above the road like a wall, almost forbidding. You're surrounded by lush green, then reddish and white colouring along the wall of rock. It's a combination of the best such wild scenery one can experience around the world, combining a bit of California's coastal highway hugging the sea, Ireland's Donegal and England's Lake District . . . but much wilder.

IT'S late in the afternoon, the road is excellent but traffic non-existent except for more than 200 Chacma baboons which delight in leaping in front of the car, not unlike those in Gibraltar who welcome tourists. Here travellers are warned not to open their car door or window or they'll be inside immediately searching for food.

We're in Cape of Good Hope Nature Preserve, now a National Park about 40 miles from downtown Cape Town. Nominated as a World Heritage Site, it covers 78 square kilometres of the Cape Peninsula and is in the full glory of its May flowering. A brochure proudly proclaims there are as many plant species in this small area as in all of Britain.

A funicular takes visitors to a point from which they can walk up to the lighthouse. Winds that swirled around Table Mountain summit earlier are doing double duty, with some people's glasses even going airborne. Some of the world's highest sea cliffs are here. Warm Mozambique currents of the Indian Ocean meeting cold Benguela waters sweeping in from Antarctica are throwing a real tantrum on the day of my visit.

Portuguese seafarer Bartholomew Diaz was first to circumnavigate the Cape in 1488. Diaz very appropriately named it Cabo Tormentoso or Cape of Storms, but Portugal's King John II renamed it Cape of Good Hope. Then Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama came around on his way to India in 1497. Thanks to them, a Cape sea route was established. Two lighthouses were eventually built, but seawrecks continued because they were often obscured in fog.

Two Oceans Restaurant's picture windows overlook a dramatic seascape with eye-riveting views of False Bay. House specialty is "African Pots" filled with a variety of seafood cooked in different sauces. There's also a lighthouse curio store.

Good opportunities exist for whale watching, hiking and plenty of shipwrecks, some visible. Most famous is the Flying Dutchman which foundered in heavy weather rounding the Cape in 1680. With his ship sinking under him, Captain Hendrik van der Decken insisted he would make it round the Cape if it took to Doomsday. People who seem perfectly sane report many sightings of the ill-fated vessel over the centuries.

NEW are an increasing number of exotic cruises focusing on itineraries including the Cape. Ask your travel agent about them. Cunard has one currently scheduled.

Travel factfile: Avis, Hertz, Budget, Economy and Europcar were among auto rentals available during my visit, but things change quickly. Local roads in good condition.

South African Tourism Board (212) 730-2929; fax (212) 764-1980.

Cape Peninsula National Park: http://www.cpnp.co.za

Cape Town Tourism:

www.cape-town.org

Next week: In Cecil Rhodes' footsteps.