The Southernmost Tip of Africa

Our drive from Hermanus directly to Arniston Bay would have taken about 1hr 20 mins on the 120km inland route but we decided to head due south at Bredasdorp to visit the southernmost tip of Africa where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet.  The drive was fairly average but the scenery was quite nice in places.

And, as ever, the coastline was just stunning.

There were very few people around and it seemed to be the done thing to offer to take a photo for whoever appeared next.

Actually, although Ian is missing a few toes, I think this is one of the nicest photos of us in recent years.

Instead of the usual picture frame, we have a giant relief map of Africa.

The Drakensburg range is presumably the big lump and  I've identified two out of 3 mountains as being Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya but I'm a little unsure what the other one is - Mount Stanley?

Cape Agulhas lighthouse which was the 3rd lighthouse built in South Africa (1848) and is the second oldest still in operation. 

Driving back through the little town of L'Agulhas I thought these little boats looked great - I think they're mainly used for fishing.

We retraced our route back to Bredasdorp and then turned right to Arniston which took about another half hour.  It was mid afternoon when we reached the hotel which actually was very nice.  We had a good size room on the ground floor by the pool and it was rather like being in a time warp but in a nice kind of way.  All the hotel staff seemed to be Indian/Asian and were lovely, there was even a complimentary bottle of wine (red, but delicious)

About a 10 min walk from the hotel is Kassiesbaii which is a village of old fishermen's cottages.  Depending on what you read it's either one of the last working fishing villages or the cottages have been done up and are rented out as holiday accommodation! 

We'd intended to walk further along the dunes but there was a group of lads hanging around so we decided against it.

Arniston Bay itself which is just in front of the hotel.

We had a very pleasant dinner and such a good night's sleep that I'm rather wishing we were staying longer.  The breakfast was out of this world, everything you could possibly wish for including my favourite of smoked salmon and cream cheese.

The receptionist had told us about Waenhuiskrans Cave, an enormous sea cave nearby which is only accessible at low tide.  The literal translation of the name means ‘wagon house cliff’ – a reference to the belief that it would be possible for a wagon and a full span of oxen to turn around inside the massive cave.  We were in luck as it was low tide this morning and so we headed off and drove as far as we could before the road turned to sand and there were numerous warnings about not attempting the track unless you had a 4x4 - we didn't.

Rock Kestrel

Although it was still fairly early it was blazing hot and yes, we hadn't taken water with us!

Unfortunately the route to actually get to the cave involved clambering over huge boulders which would have been difficult enough without a back pack.  We got around the corner where some people were fishing but couldn't work out how to actually get into the cave without wading through the water and so we turned back.  As we were heading back we talked to some other people who explained that the entrance was much earlier but involved climbing through a very small gap into the larger cave itself.  With my rising panic that the tide was coming in and we'd be drowned and Ian's dislike of potholing etc we decided there was no way we'd be venturing inside and so trudged our way back.  

Had we been brave enough, this is what it would have looked like (pinched from an Arniston Bay tourist guide page)

Rather a waste of time but we had a good walk and the scenery was nice.

Heart of Abalone Factory Tour

When we were at the New Harbour we saw an advert for  a tour around the nearby abalone factory which is one of the largest enterprises in the area.  Knowing nothing about the sea snails we decided it might be interesting as we were in the area so we booked a tour for 11:00 before we left town.  They had another tour booked for 10:00 for a private coach party and asked if we'd mind joining the earlier one which was no problem.

Over breakfast we chatted with Colin about our next stop, 1 night in Malgas and the fact that we only just discovered it was 38kms along an unmade road.  He too was concerned that we might have a breakdown or puncture and be stranded miles from anywhere and so made a couple of phone calls to friends who had driven it recently.  Given that you're not supposed to drive hire cars on unsealed roads I was particularly anxious and in the end Colin suggested that we go to a place called Arniston Bay (a name I was familiar with thanks to their rather nice Sauvignon Blanc I buy back home) which is near to the most southerly tip of South Africa and a safe place to visit.  We were very grateful for his input and luckily were able to get a room for that night in the only hotel there.

Having finished breakfast and packed the car we set off for the Heart of Abalone where we were warmly greeted and asked to wait whilst the Singapore coach party arrived - only it  never did.  Apparently driving from Cape Town some of the group got hungry so they decided to switch things around and stop for breakfast and do the tour in the afternoon.  Kurt, the guy doing our tour was really annoyed as not only had they messed us around, but it involved a tasting afterwards (oh no, not me!) and this rather expensive produce had already been prepared for the 25+ due to arrive.

Abalone used to be common in the rock pools of South Africa’s coastline and recreational divers spent their free time taking out their quota of abalone and preparing it in various delicious forms.  The South African abalone species Haliotis midae is traditionally known for its great taste and is called “perlemoen” in Afrikaans and Dutch, referring to its beautiful mother-of-pearl shell.  It is not only seen as a delicacy by locals, but also by Chinese who regard it as a special gourmet treat served at celebratory events such as weddings and birthdays.  As the demand for abalone started to surpass the supply, unfortunately not all divers and consumers followed the restrictions for quotas set by the Government to preserve this precious resource and poaching became a big threat to its sustainability.

In 1984 a Hermanus vet started to experiment with the breeding of abalone in tanks on land. The first experiments were done in small fish tanks at home with his two young boys helping carry buckets of water from the sea to their home, for the animals to have fresh aerated seawater. Experimental feeds were produced with his wife's kitchen mixer and their boys' potato guns!

What the vet didn’t realise, was that his fun home experiment was actually pioneering work for the commercial South African farmed abalone industry that today exports more than 1,000 tonnes of abalone a year to the Asian market.   Abagold (lovely play on words) was founded in 1995 and now this public company is one of the largest farms in the country.

The plant is huge and is the largest employer in the area.  

We were only going to visit a small fraction of the site but first we had to don some very attractive wellies.

We weren't allowed to see inside the abalone sexing station.  Unlike many molluscs they are not hermaphrodites and males are distinguished by having a pale or beige sex gland whereas the females have a dark green or grey-green gonad.  Females are prolific spawners and can release 10,000-11,000,000 eggs in one go.

Kurt was very proud of the water filtration system they have built.

This is what they feed on which is a natural seaweed with added nutrients.

The black cones are to restrict the amount of light the creatures get.

At this tiny size they are really cute and a beautiful colour.

Their ability to cling on tightly is amazing.

After the tour came the tasting.  I'd said from the off there was no way I was trying one so had booked the tour only but Ian thought he might until he saw them.  The first was chopped up small with added tomato and seasoning, the second thinly sliced and the last one just whole.  Ian said he couldn't taste the "fish" on the first one, the second one tasted like salty shoe leather and was disgusting and he couldn't bring himself to try the whole one - bit of a waste of £12.50 really!

The top quality ones are usually flown to the Far East, packed on ice, but there is also a canning operation so we bought a can for friend Pete who is always up for trying new stuff, on the strict understanding we wouldn't be going round for that meal.

Not the usual kind of tourist tour but interesting nevertheless.