Wild Coast lighthouses - Cape Morgan Lighthouse

The Wild Coast isn't called the Wild Coast for nothing.  It may be paradise but it can get rough out there if it wants.  So with that in mind, it's nogal strange that there are only three lighthouses (some websites say four but I'm not sure which the 4th one is) along this whole piece of coastline, Cape Morgan in the South, M'bashe roughly in the middle and Cape Hermes at Port St Johns in the North.  Out of the three only Cape Hermes is what I would call a traditional lighthouse. One built of brick and mortar.  The other two are both lights sitting on top of lattice steel towers.  Crossing back over the Kei Pont from Trennery's Hotel recently I decided to make a quick detour and have a look at the Cape Morgan Lighthouse.

A roughly three-kilometer drive along a narrow dirt road took me up to the 12-meter high Cape Morgan Lighthouse built in 1964.  The light is located in the Cape Morgan Nature Reserve and emits two white flashes every 10 seconds with a range of 24 sea miles.

The reserve saw Titanium mining take place here in the 1950's and if you follow the path down to the coast from the lighthouse you will see the remains of the mine's old seawater pump station.  The 4-day / 3-night Strandloper Trail also starts at the new Eco Centre in the reserve and covers a distance of 57 kilometers to Gonubie in East London.

Driving away I was happy to tick off another light on my list of South African lighthouses.  We seem to take them for granted seeing them along the coastline yet don't always realise how important a role they have played over the years and still do. Flash on.

The Great Fish Point Lighthouse - finally visited

I have driven between Port Elizabeth and East London so many times over the years yet the Great Fish Point Lighthouse has always just been a dot on the coastline some distance away.  The reason? Word has always been that the track up to the lighthouse is terrible and my Polo isn't quite high clearance nor 4x4.  A little while ago a fellow blogger posted about the lighthouse and I asked what the road was like. "Not a problem, you'll be able to do it easily." Suddenly it jumped up to the top of my Eastern Cape "to do" list. A road trip shortly after gave me the opportunity I needed and I took a sharp right off the R72 and what do you know... A quick smooth ride along a relatively smooth track. 

At 9 meters high the Great Fish Point Lighthouse is one of the smallest lighthouses on the South African coastline.  It didn't need to be built very high as it stands 76 meters above sea level and looks out across a dune veld to the coastline.  It may seem that the lighthouse is actually far from the coast (800 meters from the shoreline in fact), but the light can be seen 32 nautical miles out to sea and flash on the sea side every 10 seconds.

Although the large ships sail past quite far off these days, back in the 1800's ships had to be warned about three shallow reefs to the north-east of where the lighthouse is located.  These outcrops have taken a number of ships over the years, both before and after the erection of the lighthouse. In 1890 a Lighthouse Commission set up by the Colonial Government recommended that a lighthouse is built on this coast, but after several holdups the light was only completed in 1898, making it 120 years old this year.  Now I can say I've been there and done that.  Next time I want to stay over as it is one of only a few lighthouses on the South African coast that also offers accommodation.

An Express Holiday In(n) Umhlanga

Everybody knows I like to explore and in South Africa we really have so much to discover.  So when an invitation to visit Umhlanga and bring the Damselfly along came from the Holiday Inn Express Umhlanga, I jumped at the chance to see a new place and share it with my wife.  With two nights in the hotel it meant that we had a whole day to explore the coast around Umhlanga Rocks on foot and really take in what this very popular beach destination has to offer.

Waking up Saturday morning we were met with a gale force wind when we opened our hotel room balcony door.  "Oh no!"  Not the ideal beach weather but nothing short of a hurricane would have stopped us getting out there to see what there was to see.  We grabbed a taxi from the hotel and he dropped us off behind the Breakers Resort which is the last hotel on Lagoon Drive on the northern side of town.  From there we followed a short path down to the beach and hit the sand.  Or more like the sand hit us, but the wind was from behind and our sails were set.

Our first Umhlanga destination waited for us a few hundred meters up the beach.  The beautiful Umhlanga Lagoon.  Umhlanga is a Zulu work which means "place of reeds" and the river and lagoon is definitely where the name originated.  Umhlanga Lagoon isn't just a stunning scenic spot, it's also a well known... erm... come closer... *whispering* unofficial nudist beach.  Yes you heard me, don't pretend like you didn't sit up when I said it.  Or rather you read it.  So just to repeat myself quickly in case you didn't, Umhlanga Lagoon is a nudist beach.  Something I found out a few years ago when I got curious about the state of naturism in South Africa and did a little bit of research.  I wasn't expecting many nudists to be hanging around (excuse the pun) with the gale force wind as you won't just end up with sand in every possible crevice, but also have the skin sandblasted off your... Ja, you get what I mean.  I have to add though that there was a guy who arrived just before us and when he reappeared from behind the dune he was wearing his birthday suit.  It didn't last long though as he was heading back fully clothed before we even turned around.  I'm sure he's still trying to rinse sand out everywhere. 

We weren't keen to walk back along the coast right into the wind so veered off the beach and onto the trails leading through the adjacent Umhlanga Lagoon Nature Reserve.  The reserve covers 26 hectares from the end of Lagoon Drive up to and including the lagoon and river mouth.  As soon as we hit the trails it was as if the wind had just died on us.  Totally sheltered we took a leisurely stroll back towards Umhlanga Rocks along one of the paths, passing a few other people along the way.  Clearly this is a very popular spot for a walk for young and old looking to break away to nature close to civilization.

At Breakers we left the trail and followed the beachfront walkway between the buildings and the beach.  Still fairly sheltered against the wind it was a nice refreshing walk with a lot of restaurant options to get something to eat, vendors to buy something from to take back home as a gift and sea views.  Lots and lots of sea views.  It's not difficult to see why Umhlanga is such a popular destination.  We walked as far down as the iconic Umhlanga Lighthouse, built in 1954.  The circular concrete tower, painted white with a red band at the top, stands 21m high and must be one of the most recognised lighthouses on the South African coastline.

A little backtrack from the lighthouse brought us to the Umhlanga pier with it's curved "ribs".  The interesting part about the pier is that there is a large underground box culvert used to take storm water down to the sea with the pier being built on top of the extension taking the water out to a deep water channel 80 meters from the beach.  The wind nearly took us even further out but we just had to take a walk down to the end of the pier to enjoy the view.  From here we headed away from the beach to go and find something to eat and wait for our taxi back up to the hotel.

Staying at the Holiday Inn Express on Umhlanga Ridge meant that we were literally two blocks away from the Gateway Shopping Centre and we took a walk up to the mall on the Saturday evening for dinner.  Gateway is more than just a little collection of shops under one roof with a huge amount of retail stores, entertainment and restaurants to pick and choose from.  After a little retail therapy and a look around the Wave House we found ourselves a spot to enjoy some good sushi and wine before moseying back to the hotel.  

Umhlanga has a wide range of accommodation options with the ones down on the coast being more expensive than those up on the ridge.  We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Umhlanga (do go and read my review) and the fact that it wasn't right on the beach didn't effect our holiday at all.  In actual fact it's very nicely located to enjoy both the beachfront as well as the Gateway Shopping Centre, has great views, very spacious and comfortable rooms (mush more so than what I was expecting), always friendly staff and all in all a very good choice for an express holiday in Umhlanga.

Disclosure: We were invited for a weekend at the Holiday Inn Express Umhlanga by the InterContinental Hotels Group and they carried all the costs for the weekend.  They asked for a blog post to be written but had no editorial input in the content of the post. 

Agulhas - the most Southern point of Africa

I have finally had the opportunity to take the family to see Cape Agulhas.  I got to visit it the first time when I was doing my tourist guide training for the Western Cape but as a family we have never been in the area.  A day of exploring along the coast took us from Gansbaai past Danger Point to Struisbaai and Agulhas.  It took us a lot longer to make the journey than initially expected and the family already started grumbling about heading back to the campsite at Vloedbos so I decided to rather skip climbing the Agulhas Lighthouse.  At least I've been up before and the family got to climb Danger Point.  I did stop to get a couple of photos of the lighthouse though.

The Cape Agulhas Lighthouse was opened in 1849 and was the third lighthouse to be built in South Africa.  Today it is the second-oldest still operating after Green Point.  The design of the building was inspired by the Pharos of Alexandria, one of the original 7 Ancient Wonders of the World.  In 1968 the lighthouse was taken out of service when it was discovered that the sandstone walls were crumbling due to excessive weathering.  The light was moved to an aluminium tower and restoration started on the lighthouse building with it being recommissioned in 1988.

From the lighthouse it's a short drive to the parking area from where we followed a boardwalk to Cape Agulhas.  Cape Agulhas is significant as it is the most Southern point of Africa and officially the spot where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet (no matter what some Cape Townians would like you to believe about Cape Point).  The cape was named by Portuguese navigators around the year 1500 who called it Cabo das Agulhas, Portuguese for "Cape of Needles", after they noticed that the direction of magnetic north (and therefore the compass needle) coincided with true north in the region.

Chaos Boy who was the most excited about seeing the most Southern point was rather disappointed what what he saw when we got there.  Cape Agulhas is relatively unspectacular with a gradually curving coastline and a rocky beach.  To be honest, if it wasn't for the small stone monument and plaque, one would probably not even know that you are actually standing at the cape.  The significance isn't lost on you when you are there though and we joined the other tourists in a line for our turn to take photos.

Drama Princess wasn't really bothered about the cape, although she had to pose for a picture as well.  She was more worried about finding one of the oldest Geocaches in South Africa nearby.  Something we did afterwards by the way.

Cape Agulhas may not be as spectacular as Cape Point but it's still very cool to be able to say one has stood at the most Southern point of Africa.

Danger Point not looking too dangerous

The Danger Point and the Danger Point Lighthouse near Gansbaai in the Overberg has a descriptive name very apt to how dangerous the coast here can really be.  It doesn't looks as dangerous though when you photograph it with little pink wildflowers in the foreground.  

Discovering Danger Point Lighthouse

South Africa has some famous lighthouses. Cape Point, Green Point, Agulhas, Great Fish and Umhlanga just to name a few.  There are close to 50 lighthouse along the South African coast though and some often receive very little publicity because they are very much off the beaten track or just don't get visited as often as the well known ones.  During our camping holiday at Vloedbos in the Overberg we spent one day exploring the coast between Gansbaai and Agulhas and I got to visit the Danger Point Lighthouse just outside Gansbaai for the first time.

 

 

Bartolomeus Dias landed at what is now known as Danger Point on 16 May 1488.  He originally named it Ponte de Sao Brandao.  The name Danger Point comes from the dangerous reefs and rocks below the water which make it very dangerous for ships to sail close to the coast.

 

The most famous ship to be wrecked off Danger Point was the troopship HMS Birkenhead.  It was wrecked about 1,6 km from Danger Point in 1852, three years before the lighthouse was built, on a barely visible rock now named Birkenhead Rock.  The ship carried young Welsh and Scottish soldiers as well as their officers and families, on their way to Eastern Cape to fight the Xhosa.  The Birkenhead became famous as it became the first wreck where the captain called "women and children first".  All women and children were saved but most of the men perished.

The light was first activated on 1 January 1895.  The first light produced a beam of 45 000 candle.  Today's modern light has a strength of 1 700 000 candle at its peak flash intensity.  The lights is 45 meters above high water and can be seen from 25 sea miles out.

Out little lighthouse expedition was a lot less eventful although I did follow the women and children protocol to allow me to get some pics of the family shuffling up the exposed stairs. *smile*

 

You can see for miles from the top and it's clear why it is easy for a ship sailing close in shore to get into trouble here.



We fortunately didn't run into any trouble and avoided any collision with the rocks.  Unfortunately there weren't anybody else at the top of the lighthouse to take a family photo so here is one minus yours truly.  Once again just a little exploring took us to yet another new place.  It makes it hard to understand why some people never want to go anywhere and just sit in front of the tv or go walk around shopping centres.

Mossel Bay's lighthouse

 

The western point of Mossel Bay is named Cape St Blaze and long before the first Europeans arrived in South Africa this area was home to the Khoi people.  The Khoi found shelter in the caves along this coastline, one which can be found directly below the lighthouse where archaeological digs have found that the early inhabitants lived on the abundance of shellfish available from the rocks below. 

 

 

The Cape St Blaze Lighthouse was erected in 1864 and up until recently was one of the last South African lighthouses that was manned 24 hours a day.  Until the late 1970's the lighthouse worked on a clockwork system to turn the lens and a lighthouse keeper had to climb up the tower every three hours to wind it up.  These days all the navigational aids and joining plant are fully automated although a senior and two additional light keepers are still employed.  Constant radio watch is kept and regular meteorological duties undertaken.

The old Cape Point Lighthouse

Cape Point is a many historic tales and legends.  In 1688 Bartolomeu Dias passed around the point in a storm without even knowing it and only got to see it for the first time on the return journey.  He named it Cabo Tormentosa or the Cape of Storms.  Its also off this point and coastline that the mythical Flying Dutchman under the command of  Captain Hendrick van der Decken is doomed to sail into eternity.  Cape Point is also one of the biggest tourist attractions in Cape Town with thousands of tourists flocking there to admire its scenic beauty and sheer cliffs.  Visitors to the point usually take the path (or funicular for those not in the mood to walk) up to the old Lighthouse at the top from where the point itself can be seen.

The old Cape Point Lighthouse was built in 1860 and could be seen out to sea from a distance of 36 miles.  The problem was that when misty and cloudy conditions moved in the lighthouse was invisible to ships.  After the Portuguese liner Lusitania wrecked just south of Cape Point in 1911 it was decided to have a new lighthouse built close to the point itself at a much lower elevation.  The old lighthouse is still around and truth be told, probably gets photographed a lot more by tourists than the new lighthouse does.

Umhlanga Lighthouse

The 21 meter tall red and white Umhlanga Lighthouse is probably the best known lighthouse on the KwaZulu Natal coastline.  Umhlanga Rocks is situated on what was originally part of the sugar estate of Sir Marshall Campbell and means Place of Reeds in the Zulu language.  This refers to the beds of reeds that accumulate on the banks of the Ohlanga River a few kilometres north of town.  Incidentally Sir Marshall was also the person who introduced the colourful rickshaws to Durban's beachfront.  When a track was made from Mount Edgercombe to Umhlanga Rocks, the area became popular with local farmers who leased small plots on the shoreline to built vacation cottages.  From there it developed into the popular seaside resort it is today.

 

The lighthouse was completed in 1954 and replaced the Bluff Lighthouse, which was commissioned in 1869 but had to be abandoned due to its rapid deterioration.  The flashing light is a welcome sight to ships sailing into the safety of the Durban harbour.  Except for its main light its also has a fixed red light that enables ships waiting to anchor in the outer anchorage to monitor their position. If the red light can be seen, it suggests the ships' anchors have probably dragged and is too close to shore.  The Oyster Box Hotel, which was built in 1869 and was originally the first beach cottage in the area, has been the lighthouse's official warden right from the start and the lighthouse controls are in the hotel office where staff monitor the controls and report to Portnet's Lighthouse Service.

The lighthouse at Cape Point

Cape Point may not be the most southern point of Africa as many people think, but it must be one of the most dramatic spots on the South African coastline.  To get to the bottom Cape Point lighthouse one has to take a footpath along the point so most people just catch a glimpse of it from the viewpoints around the old Cape Point Lighthouse.  On my visit I didn't even notice the scaffolding around the lighthouse until I downloaded my photos.  With the harsh elements at Cape Point I'm sure the renovations is much needed.

Donkin mosaïek op Roete 67

Een van die mooiste kunsstukke wat deel uitmaak van die nuwe Roete 67 kuns- en kultuurroete in Port Elizabeth is die reuse mosaïek op die Donkin Reservaat.  Die moasïek wat deur studente aan die Nelson Mandela Metropolitaanse Universiteit gedoen is verteenwoordig aspekte van die Ooskaap.  Die sluit in diere, voëls, plante, mense en vele ander dinge.  Route 67 bestaan uit 67 kunswerke wat die 67 jaar wat Nelson Mandela in die publieke oog deurgebring het verteenwoordig.  Dit begin by die Campanile en eindig op die Donkin Reservaat met die kunswerke wat oral langs die roete gesien kan word. 

Kaappunt se vuurtorings

Kaappunt in die Kaap van Goeie Hoop Natuurreservaat is seker een van die plekke wat die meeste besoekers ontvang in Suid Afrika.  Alhoewel Kaappunt nie die mees suidelikste punt in Afrika is nie, is dit die suidelikste punt van die Kaapse Skiereiland en een van die plekke waarheen besoekers gaan as hulle om die Skiereiland toer.  Die ou Kaappuntvuurtoring by Kaap Maclear is een van twee vuurtorings by Kaappunt en kan bereik word deur of die trappies te klim of die makliker opsie wat die Vlieënde Hollander kabelbaan is te gebruik. Die ou vuurtoring is op 1 Mei 1860 opgerig op 'n hoogte van 249 meter bo seevlak.  Die toring was egter te hoog en is gereeld in die mis waar dit dan nie deur skepe gesien kon word nie.  Nadat die Lusitania, 'n Portugese skip, op 18 April 1911 gestrand het, is daar besluit om 'n nuwe toring op te rig. 

Wanneer mens opgeklim het tot by die ou vuurtoring kan jy Kaappunt self met sy loodregte kranse sien waar dit afreik tot waar die see op die rotse breek. 

Reg onder op Dias Punt is die "nuwe" Kaappuntvuurtoring.  Die hoeksteen van die nuwe toring is op 25 April 1914 gelê, maar dit is eers na die Eerste Wêreldoorlog voltooi en in gebruik geneem. Die toring se lamp wat omtrent 87 meter bo seevlak lê is teen sonsondergang op 11 Maart 1919 deur 'n driejaaroue meisie, Thurl Cooper, dogter van die die vuurtoring ingenieur H.C. Cooper, aangesteek.  Die nuwe Kaappuntvuurtoring is die kragtigste in Suid-Afrika en die 10 000 000 kerskrag lig flits drie keer elke dertig sekondes.

Donkin Reservaat na donker

Die Donkin Reservaat in Port Elizabeth het 'n mengsel van beide oud en modern.  Die oud is die Donkin gedenkteken in die vorm van 'n piramide (1820) en die Donkin Vuurtoring (1861) terwyl die moderne aspek die nuwe kuns is wat deel vorm van Roete 67. 

Kidz Adventures - Exploring PE's history

During the school holidays its always a bit of a challenge to keep bored children busy.  Most parents end up taking them to the movies, for ice cream at Micky D's, playing putt putt and games or one of the party places with jungle gyms and trampolines.  Me? Well, I try to spend at least a day with the Kidz exploring Port Elizabeth or surrounding area for them to get to know the city better.  During the past holiday we headed out to discover some of the city's historic sights along with their friends AB and JB. 

The first stop of the day was the oldest building in Port Elizabeth.  Fort Frederick was built by the British in 1799 to protect Algoa Bay from French invasion but never fired a shot in anger.  In actual fact the fort was the first permanent stone structure built by the British in Africa south of the equator.  The fort is perched on top of the cliffs above the Baakens Valley has a magnificent view of the lower valley and Port Elizabeth Harbour.  The guns on the fort are ship cannons which were placed there symbolically since the original guns were removed.  JB wanted very badly to direct a salvo out to sea but there were no enemy ships in sight.

The next stop on our tour was just a couple of hundred meters down Belmont Terrace.  The Donkin Reserve with its historic lighthouse and pyramid is my favorite historic site in Port Elizabeth.  The Donkin is surrounded by a number of other historic sites and the new Route 67 development has blown new life into the area as an attraction.  The pyramid (Donkin Memorial) was built in 1820 by Sir Rufane Donkin as a monument to his late wife Lady Elizabeth Donkin after whom he also named the town.  The lighthouse was originally built in 1861 and the old lighthouse keeper's cottage is now a Visitor Information Centre run by Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism.  Some of the Route 67 art pieces like the untitled Anton Momberg conversation piece and the Voting line make for great pictures, with or without human subjects.

While walking around the Donkin with the Kidz I noticed their eyes kept going to the lighthouse so I decided it was time to climb.  Entrance to the lighthouse is only R5 per person payable at the NMBT office.  The climb up the lighthouse is done by a few sets of steps and ladders and even though Drama Princess was a bit hesitant at the start they all flew up there like a bunch of monkeys.  The view from the top of the lighthouse is breathtaking all around with the beachfront, harbour, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium as well as the surrounding area visible.  The Donkin Lighthouse is well worth the climb.

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From the Donkin we followed the winding Route 67 path down towards the city centre for a visit to the city's historic Public Library.  Stopping briefly for a quick pic with Queen Vic (made of Sicilian marble and erected in 1903 to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee) we headed inside with the Kidz under strict instructions to keep it quiet.  The Kidz were amazed with the library's interior with its balconies and stained glass windows.  They immediately went exploring and found their way up onto the balcony walkway where, not before long, they stood admiring the beautiful windows.  The Public Library was opened in 1902 with the front stone facade built in England before being shipped to Port Elizabeth in numbered block.  I remember how we roamed the library as kids and it was awesome to introduce the Kidz to a place from my childhood memories. 

The last stop of our outing was at St Georges Park to visit the newly restored Pearson Conservatory.  The conservatory is another of the places we roamed around in as kids on Art in the Park Sundays while my mom had her stall there.  Although the inside of the conservatory has changed a bit from how I remember it, its still well worth a visit.  By now I had used up my quota of good behaviour made available to me for the day and the four of them started to get a bit too active for my liking.  With St Georges' play area close by the four set off to play in the park and expend some built up energy before coming back complaining that they were getting hungry.  It just never stops, does it?

Kaap Recife vuurtoring

Die Kaap Recife vuurtoring is op 1 April 1851 in gebruik geneem en staan net buite Port Elizabeth op die westelike punt van Algoabaai.  Kaap Recife is die draaipunt in Algoabaai in en word verskriklik gevaarlikste geag as gevolg van Thunderbolt-rif wat oor die eeue al verskeie bote en skepe geëis het.  Die rif self is vernoem na die HMS Thunderbolt wat in 1847 daar op die rotse geloop het.  The vuurtoring is 24 meter hoog en die lig is 4 000 000 kerskrag sterk.  Hy flits elke 30 sekondes en kan 29 seemyl ver gesien word.

Groenpunt

Wanneer mens in 'n stad woon is daar niks lekkerder as om uit die stad uit weg te kom nie, maar dis nie altyd moontlik nie.  Die volgende beste opsie is om op 'n strand, 'n park of natuurarea in die stad te gaan stap.  Al drie Suid-Afrika se groot kusstede het baie gewilde wandelroetes langs hulle onderskeie strandfronte.  Dit maak nie saak op watter strandfront jy stap nie, elkeen het sy eie bekoring, pragtige uitsigte en verskillende besienswaardighede.  Die Kaapstadse strandfront kyk meesal uit oor Valsbaai met die berg in die agtergrond.  Die foto is geneem vanaf Seepunt en kyk terug na Groenpunt met die Groenpuntvuurtoring aan die regterkant. 

Kaap Recife Natuurreservaat

Die Kaap Recife Natuurreservaat in Port Elizabeth beslaan omtrent 370 hektaar om die westelike punt van Algoabaai.  Die reservaat is idiaal vir voëlkyk beide aan die kus en om die waterherwinningspoele.  Die beste manier om die reservaat te verken is om op die 9km lange Roseate Tern wandelroete gaan.  Die roete begin by SAMREC (South African Marine Rehabilitation and Education Centre), 'n pikkewyn reddingssentrum, voor dit by die waterherwinningspoele verby gaan.  Die roete lei dan deur plantbedekte sandduine en verby 'n uitkykpos wat uit die Tweede Wêreldoorlog dateer.  Langs die kus sluit die roete die Kaap Recife vuurtoring in wat in 1851 gebou is en stap jy al langs die kus af terug tot by SAMREC. 

Kaap Recife sonopkoms

Sonopkoms op die stand by Kaap Recife in Port Elizabeth met die vuurtoring in die voorgrond

Slangkop Lighthouse

The Slangkop Lighthouse standing guard on the Atlantic coastline of the Cape Peninsula at Kommetjie

Slangkop

Looking up Slangkop Lighthouse in Kommetjie on the Cape Peninsula

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