During our South Africa tour, we discovered the beautiful Garden Route. In our last post, we took you to De Hoop Nature Reserve. What an incredible experience. From here, we continued our South Africa tour to Cape Agulhas, where we arrived in the evening. Cape Agulhas is a small town between Mossel Bay and Hermanus. Actually, this place is nothing special, were it not for the famous “southernmost point of Africa.”
- Getting to Cape Agulhas
- Accommodation
- Cape Agulhas Lighthouse
- Cape Agulhas – The Southernmost Point
- 140 Shipwrecks on the Coast
- Stingrays in Struisbaai
- Agulhas National Park
Getting to Cape Agulhas
Cape Agulhas is just under 230 kilometers from Cape Town. You reach the town via the N2 route. Turn off at Caledon and drive through Bredasdorp before reaching Cape Agulhas. The journey takes around 3 hours. If you’re coming from the east, leave the N2 near Swellendam and then drive through Bredasdorp. The towns of L’Agulhas and the fishing village of Struisbaai are also nearby.
Accommodation
There are several accommodations in L’Agulhas. We stayed at the Cape Agulhas Backpacker Hostel. Once again, we were completely alone in our shared room, as is often the case during the off-season in South Africa. The hostel has a lovely common area with a bar, comfortable sofas, and a BBQ corner. There’s even a small outdoor pool with sun loungers. It’s also the only hostel in the small town. But here we had everything we needed, even a SPAR supermarket was nearby.
Other accommodations:
- The Pearl in Struisbaai
- House of 2 Oceans
- South Point Self Catering and B&B
- Breeze in
- L Agulhas,Main @ 51
Cape Agulhas Lighthouse
Before you set off for the southernmost point of Africa, you will first pass the Cape Agulhas Lighthouse. It’s the second oldest lighthouse in the entire country. And, of course, it’s also the southernmost lighthouse on the African continent. Two good reasons to visit. The lighthouse was put into operation on May 1, 1849. The lighthouse itself even has a museum, which is open Monday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (although it is always closed between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.).
Cape Agulhas – The Southernmost Point
Now we wanted to start the actual program. We packed our stuff and set off for the southernmost point of Africa. The road led us to the lighthouse, from where the small and short trail started. Trail sounds a bit exaggerated here; more like a leisurely walk. At the end, we reached the “Foot of Africa,” or as this point is also called, the “Southernmost Point,” and “Where two coeans met“.
Here, the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean, at least geographically speaking. And it is also the southernmost point of the continent. Naturally, we also wanted to take this typical photo in front of the famous sign (commemorative plaque). Fortunately, only a handful of other vacationers were at Cape Agulhas that day. So we were able to take in the scenery in peace.
140 Shipwrecks on the Coast
We walked through the beautiful landscape, stopping every now and then. The fresh breeze, the soothing air in our lungs, the vibrant colors everywhere, all of which we were already used to in South Africa. Along the coast, the wind whipped from left to right, and the waves occasionally became quite wild.
A few hundred meters further on, we saw an old shipwreck in the sea just off the coast. In front of us was the Meisho Maru 38, which was caught in a violent storm on November 16, 1982. In good weather, you can take some incredible photos here. Continuing along the coast, you will come across other wrecks. A total of around 140 wrecks are said to lie off the coast, ranging from sailing ships to modern cargo ships. In Bredarsdorp, there is the Shipwreck Museum, which is open every day from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Stingrays in Struisbaai
Another highlight in Cape Agulhas are the giant “stingrays” in the harbor (Struisbaai). The stingrays follow the fishing boats that return to the harbor in the evening. The fishermen always dump their fish waste into the Sea, which the rays naturally take advantage of. If you have fish or sardines on hand, you can even feed them yourself. The rays are quite tame and are not afraid of humans.
Agulhas National Park
The Agulhas National Park is located at the southernmost point of Africa. The park is not that small, stretching from Gansbaai in the west to Struisbaai in the east. In total, the park has a length of 72 km and a width of 7 to 25 km. Here in the park, you will find diverse nature and significant biodiversity. Around 2,000 native plants can be found in the Agulhas National Park is home to 110 species of animals, including those on the red list of endangered species. Birdwatching and whale watching are particularly popular in this area.
