Cape Hope of Good Point

About halfway through the vacation, we rented a car which made it much easier for us to do some traveling outside of Cape Town. Our mission for the day was to go to the end of the Cape Peninsula and inspect. The area is a National Park and is well kept and even offers a 2-3 day trail that basically goes around the whole peninsula. There wasn't time for the hike but we managed to see many of the popular spots.

Authentic Cape Point sign. Note that this is not the southernmost point of Africa. That is located on Cape Agulhas but Cape Point has historical significance so it is still has bragging rights as far as Capes go.

The lighthouse at Cape Point. It has been continually failing the Flying Dutchman for centuries and in doing so dooming generations of sailors. I bet this is a cautionary tale in lighthouse keeper school but a shred of respect needs to be given for its consistency.

The Dias Cross. I lifted this straight from Wikipedia:

The Portuguese government erected two navigational beacons, Dias Cross and Da Gama Cross, to commemorate Vasco da Gama and Bartolomeu Dias as explorers who as mentioned were the first explorers to reach the cape. When lined up, the crosses point to Whittle Rock (34°14.8′S 18°33.6′E / 34.2467°S 18.56°E / -34.2467; 18.56), a large, permanently submerged shipping hazard in False Bay. Two other beacons in Simonstown provide the intersection.

My buried treasure sense is tingling furiously so there is almost certainly buried treasure at Whittle Rock. I am going to go back and find it Goonies style.

Sister heading back to NYC. It's funny because she can't actually walk back because there is an ocean separating Africa from North America. I think there are also other reasons why she can't walk back but it's mostly because of the ocean.

There is a lighthouse keep far off on that little sliver of land. The path out there was closed for some reason but from this distance it looks like a lonely, miserable and treacherous place to live but who knows, there might be a pinball machine inside.

The ostriches were not alarmed by the car sneaking up on them. That whole head in the sand thing is grade-A baloney. It's true that they are silly looking animals though. I think we all need to agree on shifting some of the mockery off the platypus and put it on the ostrich.

Cape of Good Hope which is very close to Cape Point. As the sign says, the area has the distinction of being the "most south-westerly part of the African continent". I think things are starting to get out of control handing out awards like that. Reel it in, direction awards.

We played the game where we were being Portuguese explorers who just landed ashore. I think in general the best way to do that is to have a stern look on your face because exploring is important business and scurvy hurts.

We went hiking to the beach. It was an overcast and blustery day which for some reason seemed appropriate to explore the area. I think the place originally being called the "Cape of Storms" has something to do with this. Sidenote: The name was changed to "Cape of Good Hope" because the other name was too depressing and scary-- now that is some clever re-branding.

*Bonus Turtle Picture* Almost flattened him driving out but was able to stop in time. It was also important that I inspect it as well and take several pictures because I like turtles.