Some people just don’t recognize their own limitations. For example, during the 15th century, intrepid Portuguese mariners prowled the uncharted waters of the Indian Ocean in small caravels in search of a sea route that would take them from Western Europe to the riches of the East. In 1488, Portuguese navigator Bartholomeu Dias discovered one of the most famous – but treacherous – Capes in maritime history – and managed to sail around it. This jagged Cape stretches out at the end of the southernmost part of Africa and tumbles from precipitous heights into the cold blue sea. The pounding his ship received by violent storms provided him with the perfect name for this finger of land. He called it the “Cape of Storms.” His “Journey of Discovery” raised hope and, in light of his extraordinary achievement, John II of Portugal looked at this same strip of land with different eyes and changed its name to the “Cape of Good Hope,” the “Hope” referring to trade prospects with China and India. In 1497, another Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, fought the gale-force winds and dangerous currents and pushed further, thereby successfully sailing around the Cape to India, and establishing a viable, all-water route from Europe to Asia.
The topography surrounding this area of Africa is stunningly wild and beautiful and consists of windswept cliffs that plunge more than 800 feet into the sea and three clearly-defined promontories – the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Maclear and Cape Point, which make up the Cape Peninsula National Park. And the view is, indeed, spectacular, especially if you walk up the steep, paved walkway or take the funicular up to Cape Point Lighthouse. From this high vantage point, you get a sweeping 360-degree view of False Bay, Cape Peninsula, the lighthouse and, on the east, the tranquil blue-green waters of the Indian Ocean and, on the west, the blue-black giant rollers of the Atlantic frothing at the base of the cliff.
The Cape of Good Hope is commonly regarded as the point at which the two majestic oceans meet; the Atlantic Ocean on the western edge of the peninsula, with the icy Benguela current (46 to 59 degrees) that flows up from Antarctica, and the Indian Ocean on the eastern shore, with the warm Agulhas current (55 to 68 degrees) that flows down from Mozambique. To be geographically accurate, however, this joining of the oceans actually occurs about 100 miles to the southeast, at Cape Agulhas. But Cape Agulhas is not as impressive and lacks the dramatic topography of the Cape of Good Hope area, with its breathtaking coastal scenery – remote, deserted, sandy beaches, rugged cliffs, rocky coves, bays and sandy flats. It’s understandable, then, why, in 1580, Sir Francis Drake described it as, “the most stately thing and the fairest Cape we saw in the whole circumference of the earth.”
Its beauty never lulled mariners, however. They always treated the Cape with the respect it deserved. Before radar was introduced, the Cape was a landmark from which captains got their bearings. But if the Cape was obscured by the dead of night or a blanket a fog, there was always the risk of sailing too close to the jagged rocks and smashing head-on into the South African coastline. Once early seafarers sailed past the Cape, they breathed a sigh of relief, assured that a very major battle against the sea had been won.
Not everyone bested the Cape, however. Evidence of the treachery of the waters can be seen from the remains of some two dozen shipwrecks along the coastline. One of the most famous involves the legendary Flying Dutchman, an event on which Richard Wagner based his opera of the same name, and after which the funicular that runs to the lighthouse on Cape Point is named. The Dutchman was the captain of a ship that sank in heavy seas while attempting to sail around the Cape in 1680. Even while his ship was sinking, the captain arrogantly declared, “I will round this Cape even if I have to keep sailing until doomsday.” Some people claim that a mysterious ghost ship with captain and crew on board can still be seen sailing with cracked mast and tattered sails by those who are courageous enough to look straight into the eye of a Cape storm.
Obviously, an aid to mariners was required so a lighthouse, some 780 feet above sea level, was built in 1860. It wasn’t the brightest of architectural ideas, for, after it was finished, builders found that it was set so high and so far back that mist and fog often totally blocked out the light. So, in 1913, the current lighthouse was built on the Point, at 280 feet.
But there’s a lot to enjoy here. The area’s Mediterranean-type climate has created a treasure trove of diverse plants that provide unlimited fascination around the world. In fact, South Africa is the only country in the world to have within its borders an entire floral kingdom, the Cape Floral Kingdom (only six such kingdoms exist) that includes Proteas, Ericas, reeds and bulbous plants. It also has some 250 species of birds and its shores are rich with marine life – sharks, seals, dolphins and whales that migrate from July to November in huge numbers to breed and calve. Antelopes, elands, tortoises, ostriches and baboons also roam the park. The visitor’s center offers scenic route maps and, strange to say, even baboon maps to show you where these cheeky animals hang out.
