#struisbaai

Cape Town was in our rear view mirror as we speed away in the direction of the Garden Route which is a well trodden tourist eastbound trail along the southern coastline. We have very much enjoyed our 4 nights here; weather mixed preventing us from climbing Table Mountain, but Robben Island was great and just spending time in and around the city has been most enjoyable. The city has a friendly feel to it and we have been able to relax somewhat in a familiar cosmopolitan place; very different in character to when Martine previously visited in the eighties at a time apartheid was very much still a reality of day to day life. It was only when we set off on the N2 that we were reminded that we are not in England. First up, a farmer was heading his cows along the side of the fast dual carriageway. On leaving Cape Town we were also very aware of the shanty towns of corrugated iron box slums that are home to many people alongside the busy road. It is certainly a country of contrast and extremes which can be a challenge both to our sensitivities and consciences and hard to understand.

Next up half a dozen big hairy monkeys were picking away at something on the grass verge. Mr Avis has very kindly lent us one of his very new VW T-Roc SUV's and I must say that we are fully putting it through its paces. Don't tell anyone, but it has already been tested on 15 miles of unsealed roads! The vibration and dust exercise went especially well. Full marks. We stopped for lunch at Hermanus, about 1.5hrs East of Cape Town by the sea. Well positioned for whale watching at the appropriate time of year. Now is not that time, so this was not high on the agenda. Instead we restocked on rubbery chicken and Tim Tams. Our impressions of the place were that it was clearly a holiday location for locals and very artistic; lots of very nice galleries.

We then had a further hour and a half to go to our current port of call for the next two nights; a harbour town called Struisbaai. The area, surprisingly, has a good reputation for the production of SB! Note to self, must try. By way of an introduction to African wildlife, we were allowed sightings of two ostriches on route.

We are in an extremely comfortable B&B with fantastic views of the surf crashing against the shore of the Indian Ocean. Truth be told, I think our quarters might once have been a garage but you wouldn't know from looking at the finished result. Martine will of course be doing an oil change tomorrow! Apparently Struisbaai is the most southerly point of South Africa. To mark the spot, a most fetching red and white striped lighthouse was erected in 1842 after the loss of some 250 vessels. I'm sure, as the number one tourist attraction, we shall have to investigate much further tomorrow. We are also expecting some more good fine weather to do a bit of walking. 22° today but with a stiff chill southerly breeze.

Another beautiful day so on good advice we made our way to the old harbour in time to see the fishing fleet return at 10.00am. Apparently when the boats arrive, 6 resident stingrays also appear. Huge they are: as tall as a man. Sadly there was no sign of either, so we followed the second bit of advice from our landlady and walked along firstly the boardwalk and then the beach for as far as our Start-Rite shoes would take us. The sun shone and the pastel colours of the beach and the sea were stunning. What a fantastic part of the world this is! An angling club was having a bit of a competition; rods and lines were everywhere. It seemed that most members were policemen so hopefully there was no crime in these parts today. Occasionally a cry went up and officials had to verify a catch. We witnessed a sand shark being landed. Wasn't huge, but apparently it counted. After a flap or two on the sand it was ceremoniously returned to its watery home. Also in abundance on the beach were an invasion of Portuguese Men of War left high and dry, marooned for all time by the receding tide. I might mention also the snake, but identification was difficult.

We checked again on return to the harbour for the presence of stingrays but once again we felt let down by their absence. I'm told the fishing fleet may not have gone out due to the turbulence at sea, therefore stingrays remained buried in the sand, as they do.

After luncheon, following yet further instructions from the landlady, we again put the VW through its paces with specific attention this time to suspension on unmade-up roads, and then in full Virginia Woolf fashion, 'To the Lighthouse'. We clambered up all 71 steps within it to view the light and walk the balcony, perhaps despite the concern of the girl in the ticket office who seemed to have doubts we might make it up and down safely. We could see she was much relieved when after 20 minutes or so her charges returned none the worse for wear despite the inclination of all the steps and ladders required to negotiate. Installed 1st March 1849, 31m high, at a cost of £15,871 with a 400W bulb that flashes every 5 secs, the lighthouse has a range of 31 nautical miles. It was esigned by Col.C Mitchell, Surveyor General of the Cape Colony in a style of the Pharos of Alexandria in Egypt. Well with a design of that provenance it should have fixed the problem for good, however on 16th November 1982 in a terrible storm, a 45m Japanese trawler, Meisho Maru No 38 hit rocks close to the lighthouse so hard it broke up and is still there. Well, I guess there's always one isn't there? All of this is bang on the Southern most point in Africa, named Ponts de Sao Brandao by Bartholomew Dias the well known Portuguese Mariner when he happened to pass by on 16th May 1488, and marks the official position where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic. Both sides look the same to me but I'm sure the fish know the difference. That name didn't stick too long because it was renamed in 1502, Capo Das Agulhas meaning 'Needles' after the sharp looking rocks nearby. Now since 1972 just called Cape Agulhas for short. The exact location has been a bit of a discussion issue since 1836, so recently the International Hydrographical Organisation waded in and said that's it, not discussing this any more it's slap bang on the longitudinal line 20°E. End of.... Oh ok then....

Talking of fish, we then went to the Trattoria for a superb lemon sole fish supper. Well, I had that but Martine thought some form of pasta would be preferable. Very nice it was too. We had a bottle of SB on ice back at the motor pool to wash it down with. Great day. Tomorrow we move further along the Garden Route coast.

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