Table Mountain National Park - Cape Point

Below are more photos from the trip to Cape Town that Debbie, Lola and I made in September. One day we drove down to Cape Point Park, which is actually part of the larger Table Mountain National Park. At the park, there are actually two "capes" or points -- Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. It is the second that is the most southwesterly tip of Africa. The southernmost point is Cape Agulhas, which is across False Bay and to the east.

Cape Point is considered the meeting place of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. I know it's probably my imagination, but I swear I can see a difference in the color of the water going out south of the point. I've mentioned this to some folks, and they say, "No, you can! It's because the Benguela current (from the Atlantic to the west) and the Agulhas current (from the Indian to the east) meet there."

The Portuguese explorer Bartholomew Dias was the first European to sail around the cape in the 1400s. This opened up a new trade route. It's also a very treacherous area. The 40s latitudes are apparently quite windy and dangerous, and so ships would sail closer to the coast in order to avoid the "naughty 40s". But the coast itself is quite rocky, and there have been many shipwrecks along this coast, including the Lusitania in 1911.

Debbie at the signpost for Cape Point.

A view of the Cape of Good Hope, from Cape Point.

Cape Point -- the new (1919) lighthouse can be seen about halfway down the cliff.

Another view of Cape Point, with False Bay in the background.

False Bay.

Debbie at the signpost for Cape of Good Hope, the most southwesterly point of Africa. Please note that she is wearing an Acoustic Café t-shirt. The Acoustic Café - serving hot licks since 1996.

Katy at Cape of Good Hope signpost.

The rocky beach at Cape of Good Hope. This is where Jeff and I watched a beautiful sunset back in April.

Beach cabanas in Simon's Town, or Fishhoek, I forget which.

Tidal pool near the cabanas. The water is trapped within the confines of the brick and/or stone walls, making it warmer and safer to swim in. There are several of these in the coastal resort towns.

The view from At Villa Fig, one of my favorite B&Bs in Constantia (a suburb of Cape Town). This is the eastern or back side of Table Mountain. That's Devil's Peak to the right.

Another view from At Villa Fig.

Some lavendar at At Villa Fig.

At Villa Fig.