Where two oceans meet

We drove on from Simon's Town, through Kalk Bay and followed the line of False Bay all the way to Hermaus. 

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Hermanus is a great place to go whale watching for the annual migration between June and December, annually. This town is so centred around their whales there is even a festival in October  which celebrates the whales and entertains the crowds. Unfortunately we were out of season, but the views over the bay and at Hermanus were still lovely. This holiday really was all about the views! 

We couldn't find our hotel anywhere and got huge amounts of help from a patient lady in the Tourist Info office who informed us we had to head back out of town in the direction we had some from in order to get to our BnB for the evening, Robin's Nest. 

Before we left town we headed to The Honey Stall - the shop only sold honey and related products, such as wax, candles and wax/ honey beauty products. We got to taste all sorts of types of honey from eucalyptus to avocado - I have to say they all tasted different, but not really like the thing they were made from. We left with a pot of tasty eucalyptus honey - yum.


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"Life is the flower for which love is the honey." - Victor Hugo

That evening we headed around the corner for a sundowner. The bar we had our drinks in was called Eat and, to be honest, didn't look like much, but after a long day and one drink we decided not to bother walking all the way back from the shopping village we were in in order to change and head back. Dress rules for eating out in SA are fairly relaxed, so we decided just to order, and what a happy accident that was. We had the most amazing fillet steak of the trip. We headed back with a second bottle of red and chilled out on the balcony whilst enjoying the relaxing surroundings of the mountain we were in the foothills of.

The rooms here were separate from the house and under new management, which meant that the mattresses, bedding and towels were so new we were their first user, but the sofa and décor looked very 80s, it would be great to go back and stay here once the new owner has all her finishing touches on the place.

We slept deeply and set off about 6am for a busy day at Cape Agulhas, the bottom of Africa proper and where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet....

We drove through a few small towns and caught a roadside breakfast, eventually the towns petered out to countryside before we got to the small community of L'Agulhas centred around the spot that is the bottom of Africa. Many people think that Cape Point or the Cape of Good Hope are at the bottom of the continent, but take a look at a map and you will see just where the land truly ends.

“That’s how I’ve always imagined it–the World is like a great round table and the waters of all the oceans endlessly pouring over the edge. The ship will tip up–stand on her head–for one moment we shall see over the edge– and then, down, down, the rush, the speed–” ― C.S. Lewis

And what is there at the end of Africa?

A lighthouse of course!

"Lighthouses don't go running around an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining" - unknown

The Cape Agulhas Lighthouse (built circa 1848) is the third lighthouse built in SA and the second oldest still operating in SA, the oldest being in the Greenpoint area of Cape Town where we stayed at the start of the trip and I stayed at the end. The one in Greenpoint went off one night and kept me awake from 4am! Don't think I will be living near a lighthouse any time soon. 

The coastline here is really rugged and you feel you are really on the edge of something. Mum felt this more than me I think, as she asked if the white speck out at sea could be an iceberg, sadly we weren't that close to the Antarctic circle. 

We headed down to the beautiful rugged coast...

...past the wild tortoises...

....and on to the Southernmost Tip of Africa!

This is the point at which the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet, from a biodiversity perspective I find this fascinating as cold currents from the Atlantic (Benguela current)  merge with warmer currents from the Indian Ocean (Agulhas Current) and create a unique environment and interesting natural phenomena such as the huge kelp forests.

 

We had a look round the museum at the bottom of the lighthouse. 

We had the option to go up the lighthouse via some very steep steps and ladders and it took some time to pluck up the courage for me, so despite slightly shaky knees, up we went...

"You cannot push any one up a ladder unless he be willing to climb a little himself." - Andrew Carnegie

...the views were lovely! 

 

It was fairly windy up there though and after blowing away the cobwebs we negotiated our way back down the ladders, led by a decorator from Hull who showed us the best technique! 

Next we headed back along the coast towards the lovely town of Knysna and our little wooden cabin for the evening.

"Wherever you go, go with all your heart." - Confucius