From place to place

The coast

A Japanese boat.

We are continuing our exploration of new places in South Africa.

Here, we are at Cape Agulhas. This site is the most southern point of the whole Africa. Moreover, it is the official area where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. This zone is very important since the mix of the warm waters from the Indian Ocean and the cold waters from the Atlantic creates a unique environment where several endemic species live. It is more than a mix of species from two oceans, it is a whole set of creatures unique to the region.

Even on the dry land, all this region of the country is unique. Numerous plants and animals are unique to the region. For example, there are more than 20,000 species of plants, 10% of all the species of the world. All those species on a land area that is only 1% of all the land of the planet.

The most southern point of the whole Africa.

Cape Agulhas's lighthouse.

One of the numerous beaches.

The lighthouse at Danger Point.

False Bay.

A tidal pool where the children can play and swim safely... It's a great setup. The waves fill the pool.

South Africans are great fans of fishing.

Shipwreck near Cape Agulhas.

False Bay.

Hermanus

Hermanus is one of the nicest towns we have seen on the section of the coast that we explored.

A nice public bench.

Bontebok National Park

New species - bontebok.

The Bontebok Park protects this antelope named a 'bontebok' It is a lovely and quite rare animal.

A bontebok.

New species... of mouse.

Cape Winelands

The Cape Winelands region, similarly to Route 62, is a nice region where wine producers are numerous. The region is more touristy than Route 62, but it is nevertheless quite pleasant. Some people say that the best wines come from here... but we are not so sure.

Franschhoek is a small town whose first inhabitants where the Huguenots that came from France. Several wineries or restaurants have French names, sometime weird, but nowadays nobody speaks French anymore.

In this store, one can find local wine as well as some imported from France. In the cellar, there are wines more than 20 years old and worth a lot of money.

Museums

We visited two nice museums in the area. The first was showing how the people were living in the years 1800. The second one is about the numerous shipwrecks that occurred on the coast. There are hundreds of shipwrecks.

A superb hearse.

A canon from one of the shipwrecks.

Miscellaneous

Church in Swellendam.

Swellendam can be seen in the background.

View from Marloth Nature Reserve.