The (almost) End of the World

Today with our mate Peter (who we toured with down the Garden Route and took us to meet his folks) we travelled to Cape Point AKA the Cape of Good Hope AKA the South-Western most part of Africa. We drove the cliffs of Chapman's Drive past Camps bay to get to the Cape.

Here the Indian and Atlantic oceans fully merge (although Cape Alguas 80km away takes the prize as the most Southern point of Africa and where the oceans 'officially' first meet)


The Cape is a key point for salty dogs in the know with its historic importance on the sea trade route to India. Still an important shipping lane for things too big to fit through the Suez Canal and littered with historic shipwrecks. The place the Flying Dutchman the ghost ship is reputed to haunt (though try as I might I saw nothing).

We were touring with an older couple of ex-university professors from Conneticut, so we had soem interesting discussions over lunch in Simon's Bay. We checked out the local African penguin colony, the naval base before driving to the bayside town of Fish Hoek for a pleasant surprise-seeing 2-3 southern right whales cavorting/mating in the Bay. No cool photos of them leaping out of the water though despite my yelling at them.

A quick stop in the Kirsten Bosch National Gardens then home with an offer of a place to stay in Conneticut if I make it there. Bye bye Peter till we come back :-(

I had a chance to get dropped off at the huge Casino here but im pretty pooped so i might give it a miss tonight...maybe tomorrow on our last day/night in South Africa.

Manfred