The southermost tip of Africa, where oceans officially meet, and where the wind is brutal
It would have been very easy to remain in Cape Town, claiming residency and spending the rest of my life there, pretending I only ever intended on a demi-navigation of Africa.
The only way of potentially getting to the Whale Coast: towns like Hermanus, is to travel first to Caledon by Intercape coaches, a journey of 2.5 hours. The sun backlit the mountains beautifully before darkness fell. Caledon is small, and after Cape Town, barren. Aside from a small museum, the other things to do in town are visiting the historic Bath River bridge, that requires passing a loose and vicious looking dog, and visiting a Nature Reserve I don’t discover until its too late.
To reach Hermanus, my transport of the hospital staff bus heads back towards Cape Town. I’m glad it does. It allows me to see the splendor of the surrounding countryside I missed after the sun had set the day before. Anywhere else the views would be spectacular, but here in South Africa they are ten-a-penny. Every view is worthy of a photograph.
Hermanus lies on Walker Bay. A walk runs along the cliffs from the east to west of town. A small colony of seals basks on nearby rocks, and swim the sea.
Agulhas, Africa’s southernmost point, must be Africa’s windiest point too. I scale the 31m tall lighthouse built in 1849. The ladders up are almost vertical; the wind on the balcony by the beacon so strong I’m pushed backwards and cling to the round walls for security. I can’t honestly identify where one ocean ends and the next begins. I see none of the reported change in water colour.
