Living in Fish Hoek you’d think I would have been to Cape Point at least once in the past couple of years. You’d be wrong, it had been years since I visited the Cape of Good Hope and last week I wondered why.
With my dad’s wildcard in his wallet, water in our bottles, sun-creamed faces and a pair of dingy-looking hats we set off for Cape Point. The drive alone is spectacular, especially once you’ve passed through the seaside village of Simonstown. We drove along the coastal road which winds and curves around the rocky mountainside and which gives you a brilliant view of the Indian Ocean crashing against the cliffs. It must have been a 20-minute drive before we reached the turning for our destination, and we still had to drive a good few minutes before we reached the dedicated entrance.
It was here that I remembered that I had not been to this national park in years and wondered how many other locals were like me. It seems sad that fewer and fewer locals visit their hometown treasures whether it’s laziness or finances stopping them. We entered free of charge thanks to the wildcard, but admission is generally R80 for adults and R20 for kids. We were handed a pamphlet about the park printed on 100% recycled paper, a nice touch.
It was the perfect day for an outing to the lighthouse, there wasn’t a cloud above and the bright blue sky set off the yellow-sand ground and deep green of the vegetation nicely. Driving through the park is a reminder of the country we all live in, the landscape is a harsh yet exquisite vision of Africa. I couldn’t believe how big it was, and revelled in the natural setting we found ourselves in.
We reached the parking lot at the top, parked the car and, after saying hello to the resident mother baboon and her baby, set off towards the lighthouse. We quickly stopped at one of the curio shops near the starting point and then continued upwards. It was pretty quiet; the tourist buses hadn’t yet arrived so we could enjoy the scenery at our own pace. The walk up to the first lighthouse, built around 1860, was a bit tougher than I expected, but then again I’m not at my
optimum fitness level. It’s a steep hike up with multiple viewpoints along the way. At the top the sheer drop to the shoreline is striking especially with the thrashing waves crashing onto the rocks below.
The water is aquamarine right
along the shore and becomes deeper and darker further out to sea; the colours are wonderful.
When we reached the lighthouse, and walked up the last few stone steps to a man-made balcony enclosed with a short stone wall, we were breathless. We walked to the edge of the wall and looked out below, down towards the very tip of the continent and felt quite small. The view is impressive and well worth the hurting legs and sweating brows we shared between us.
We discovered the path to the current working lighthouse and were considering walking down to it. The sign said it would take us one and a half hours, so instead we listened to our grumbling stomachs and began walking back to the Two Oceans Restaurant, promising that we’d return another day and finish what we had started. Hey, it’s a reason to go back isn’t it?
Jade Scully is a copywriter excited about writing copy and stories, blogging about the world and editing. She currently and regularly publishes her stories on a number of blogs. Jade loves animals and hopes to begin writing copy for the animal rescue charity TEARS as her contribution to the cause.
