Today I took a bus trip down to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. Which, incidentally, is not the furthest south you can go in Africa. There's another cape a little to the east (just a couple lighthouses east, as a matter of fact) which is further south. The Cape of Good Hope is, however, the further southwest that you can go in Africa. And how often can you say you've been to the corner of a continent?
The drive reminded me very much of Highway 1 in California. Very rocky coastline, very windy roads, and absolutely gorgeous scenery.
The Cape itself is a National Park, with plenty of wildlife and wide open scrublands. There really isn't tall vegetation, simply because of the wind! This much water around you, this far south, means that the winds can get pretty intense. Fun fact: they were going to name this the Cape of Storms, but that was considered too negative, bad luck, so they went with the more positive Cape of Good Hope.
At the Point itself, you take a little funicular rail to the base of the lighthouse, and then can take the stairs up to the lighthouse. You have an absolutely breathtaking view, while the wind is whipping about also taking you breath away! In the pictures below, the one with my windblown locks is in front of the Cape of Good Hope (the little spit of land behind me) while the other is in front of False Bay. Which is actually a bay, but not Table Bay at Cape Town which olden sailors were aiming for. The mountains apparently looked similar enough that it caused confusion; hence, False Bay.
And being a national park, we were on the lookout for wildlife. The first siting was an ostrich crossing the road. It sounds like the start to a joke, doesn't it, but there he was!
Further up the road, our bus driver slowed because he had spotted a baboon on the side of the road. As we sat and watched, it turned out the baboon wasn't alone! There were several of his friends, including several young ones scampering about and playing!!
Baboons are actually a pretty dangerous pest animal in that part of the world. They are intelligent, move in large groups, and will eat anything and everything. The park and the coastal towns actually have a job called Baboon Spotter, who radios in the movements of baboon troops sited in the area, so that those nearby can plan accordingly.
And yes, this sign below was the one which the baboons were playing behind. Very appropriate, really.
But the real stop was coming up next - Boulders Beach!
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