To The End of Africa!

Today we journeyed to the tip of Africa and back!  We visited the Cape of Good Hope and its sister point, Cape Point.  The Cape is absolutely magnificent.  The views are towering cliffs that are 600 feet high, crashing waves, and brilliant blue water.  The wind was intense, it was probably the strongest wind I have walked in, let alone hiked in.  It is easy to understand why the Cape of Good Hope is also called the Cape of Storms since the winds were incredibly strong in nice weather. 

We rode a funicular (or tramway as we would say) from the parking lot up the cliff to the taller, older lighthouse on Cape Point. Cape Point is a sheer rocky cliff that cuts into the ocean.

The wind at the lighthouse almost blew us over (see the direction of my pony tail!).  Behind us you can see the Cape of Good Hope and the frothy water.  

We descended the rock path from the higher lighthouse and then hiked to the very end of the point to reach the second lighthouse  (the higher lighthouse is not always visible in the mist and a shipwreck proved that a lower one was needed).  We literally were at the end of Africa (well, technically, there is one Cape that extends further south but everyone speaks of Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope as being at the tip of Africa).

We hiked as far south as possible to the end of the trail.  I like this photo of Amy at the lower lighthouse with the taller lighthouse at Cape Point in the background on the right and the Cape of Good Hope on the left.

After braving the elements, we ate lunch in the southern most restaurant in Africa.  We enjoyed the food and a nice break from the hiking.  After lunch we hiked the windy and rocky path from Cape Point to Cape of Good Hope.  The views were breathtaking but it was easy to be blown off path by the wind. 

Miranda did great with the hiking.  On the other hand, Thandokuhle pretty much reached her limit during the 1.5 hour hike to the Cape of Good Hope.  She had been scared by the funicular - this was her first "train" ride.  But she really didn't like the wind - it really was intense and loud.  She did enjoy getting a ride from Grandpa though.

The drive to the Cape was very scenic both ways.  However, Dad has declared that he needs a break from driving hairpin turns between the ocean and the mountain with no guardrails.   Here are the happy travelers on our way to the Cape.  (On our way home we looked much more windblown and tired).