01/14/25: Cape Point and Boulders Beach

Today our bus departed from Observatory at 8:00 AM and we left for Cape Point. The drive was roughly an hour and a half to get there. Since the holiday break was now over for workers, we faced more rush hour traffic in Cape Town. On the way, we stopped at Chapman’s Peak Mountain to get a great view of the South African Coast. The roads were narrow and treacherous because we were along the side of a mountain. We saw many interesting things along this road, including a bike accident and a tunnel that was carved out of the side of the mountain.

We finally arrived at Cape Point and climbed to the top of the mountain by the new light house. We learned that Cape Point has two lighthouses: an old one and a new one. The old lighthouse was built in the 1850’s but had to be retired because it sits too high above the ocean and often falls into cloud cover. When it was able to be seen, it created problems for ships coming out of the East because it would appear too close and caused them to approach the land too quickly, causing shipwrecks. These shipwrecks influenced the construction of a new lighthouse in a different spot further up the mountain in 1911. We also learned how Cape Point was originally named Cape of Storms from Portuguese sailor Bartolomeu Dias due to its strong winds and large waves. We definitely felt the winds during our visit here. It was then renamed to be the Cape of Good Hope as a request from King John II of Portugal. 

The top of the mountain provided a great view of the open ocean to the South. There were more mountains to see towards the East as a continuation of the cape. There were also structures that had been abandoned spread sporadically throughout the landscape. These buildings were built by the South African Military and were used as radar listening stations to detect German U-boats during World War II. 

Cape Point is considered to be the most Southwestern point on the African continent. Below is a photo we took as a group on the beach at Cape Point. The beach had extremely strong winds and was a great place to rock climb! The beach also had a sign to take photos near the water.

After we explored this area for a while, we ate a delicious lunch packed by our local friend Ivy on the bus. The next stop was an ostrich farm. Each student was given the chance to feed ostriches out of their hand. The ostriches were very hungry and appreciated us feeding them. The ostrich farm also had a unique gift shop that included fancy jackets, shoes, and wallets all made of ostrich leather. Fun fact: ostrich leather is the second toughest leather in the world, behind kangaroo skin.

The final stop of the day was at Boulders Beach. Here we saw hundreds of African penguins lying across the beach. African penguins are critically endangered, so this beach provides a spot for them to remain safe and continuously grow the penguin population. We learned many facts about their lifecycle and how conservationists are trying to bring them out of endangerment. This day was action packed, and we got to see many exciting things!

Blog by Calvin Piemonte