Exploradoranja

Beautiful nature, delicious food and family all around describes our Karoo Christmas perfectly.
I'm keeping the words to a minimum and letting the photos tell the story.

11:00 am

18:00 pm

The first half of our Saturday we spent at Agulhas, before returning to Arniston. At Arniston we went to the hotel to warm up with Hot Chocolate while having a beautiful view of this dangerous ocean in front of us. Arniston is a tiny coastal village.

1. The hotel and beach view

2. Me, being extremely excited about something

Arniston derives its name from the Arniston ship that sank there in 1815. She was part of the British East Indiaman fleet and was rounding the Cape to return wounded soldiers home to England from Ceylon. A chronometer was a very expensive instrument at that time. The Arniston didn’t have one, so her Captain had to rely on the other ships in the fleet to know where he was. When a storm separated him from the other ships, he had to rely on his own intuition to navigate himself home. When the captain rounded Waenhuiskrans, he thought that is was the Cape of Good Hope and started to steer the ship north. This meant that he ran the ship ashore onto the rocks at Waenhuiskrans. Of the 378 people on board, only six managed to swim ashore. They started to make their way to Cape Town when they realised their mistake. They were found on the beach by a farmer’s son. A memorial was erected on the beach by the wife of Colonel Giels. Their four children died on that fateful day.

3. Arniston memorial

The inscription on the memorial reads: Erected by their disconsolate parents to the memory of Thomas, aged 13 years, William Noble, aged 10, Andrew, aged 8 and Alexander McGregor Murray, aged 7 (the four eldest sons of Lieut. Colonel Andrew Giels of H.M. 73rd Regiment) who, with Lord and Lady Molesworth unfortunately perished in the Arniston Transport, wrecked on this shore on 3rd May, 1815.

4. At Arniston you can also do some whale watching

While at the hotel we decided to take a walk to the nearby cave. Arniston’s other name is Waenhuiskrans. This is an Afrikaans name which literally means “Wagon House Cliff”. The reason the town was given this name is because the cave that can be found here is big enough to house an entire wagon and its oxen. This is a limestone cave and can be found to the right of Roman Beach, which is about 2km south of Arniston. The cave can only be accessed at low tide as the cave is under water during high tide and thus very dangerous.

5. On our way to the cave

6. Steps down to the cave

According to the pamphlet we got at the hotel, it is best to plan your trip to the cave at sunset. The reason for this is that the darkness of the cave makes the colours outside even more spectacular which means that sunsets seen from inside the cave must be amazing. When the last ray of sun sinks below the horison, a green flash can be seen. This 2 second flash is caused by the dispersion of the blue light. Unfortunately we weren’t there are sunset, but the cave was still pretty spectacular. It really is as big as described with the prettiest rock formations inside. The roof is spectacularly grooved as a result of the water erosion. At the far side of the cave, the rocks and sand are still wet. Kelp was also lying here and this is proof that the ocean does completely fill this cave at high tide.

7. Almost there

8. The Cave

That night we made sommer dinner back at the house and then decided to go out for a drink. Arniston has no pumping nightlife and this we found out on the Saturday night. We wanted to go out for a drink, but finding the hotel closed for a private function, we had no choice but to go home. There are no other bars or restaurants open in this little town that time of the night and it was only nine o’clock!

9. Dinner time

The next day we decided to explore the white washed and thatched roof houses of Kassiesbaai. This is a 200 year old fishing village and it has been declared a National Heritage site and South African Monument. At some of the houses you can enjoy a traditional meal consisting mainly of fish. An arts and crafts shop is also set up. Most of the residents here still make their living from the sea.

10. On our way

11. Welcome to Kassiesbaai

12. Arniston harbour

13. Cute cousin playing on the anchor outside the hotel

After that we headed back to Roman’s Beach again for some ice-cream. At this ice-cream stand you can only choose between strawberry and vanilla or a strawberry/vanilla mix. If you don’t like any one of these flavours, then you’ll just have to do without ice-cream.

14. Roman’s beach: path to The Cave can be seen at the far right

15. Ice-cream on the beach

16. Soft lime stone at the beach makes for interesting sand art

After that our weekend at Arniston was finished. After lunch and some careful packing, with me still managing to forget things, we headed back home.

17. A Goodbye sunset

On the South coast of South Africa, about 280 kilometers from Cape Town, two oceans meet at the little town of Agulhas. It is this collision of two very different oceans that creates one of the most dangerous stretches of coast in the world. Divers, explorers and researchers also know this stretch of coast from the Cape of Good Hope to the Eastern Cape as Shipwreck Coast. This weekend we stayed in Arniston which is approximately 40 kilometers and a 30 minute drive away from Agulhas. There are about 4000 permanent residents in this area between Agulhas and Arniston.

Little towns install a different feeling in people. The sky is clearer and bluer and the air cleaner. Life moves at a slower pace than in the city and people practice Il Dolce far niente without ever having heard of it. Il Dolce far niente is an Italian saying which can be translated as “the sweetness of doing nothing”. It describes a pleasant idleness which can only be found when you know the value of doing nothing.

Driving away from Cape Town, snow can be spotted on the mountains in the distance which could be a sign that we are in for a cold weekend. As we progress through the countryside, the air becomes blue and clear and after a little rain a beautiful rainbow can even be seen.

1. Pre-rain skies

2. Countryside

3. Double rainbow outside Caledon

4. The rainbow seen from the house

5. The house in Arniston that we stayed in

On the first night we didn’t do anything, but relax inside the house under blankets in front of the fire. On Saturday we drove to Agulhas. This area was named Cabo das Agulhas by the Portuguese in the 1500’s. It means Cape of Needles, because the Portuguese navigators noticed that Magnetic North coincided with True North in this region. The name can also refer to the jagged edges of the coast. Until the 20th century the area was known as Cape L’Agullas. Today the town is known as L’Agulhas with the area known simply as Cape Agulhas. The name change is a result of French influence in the Cape. To get to the point you drive through L’Agulhas and park close to the lighthouse. The last few meters to the official meeting point of the Indian and Atlantic oceans has to be walked. This official point has been chosen by the International Hydrographic Organization.

6. Walking to the most Southern point

7. The official meeting point of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans

After having a quick snack on the benches by the point, we headed back to the lighthouse. The coastline of this area is so dangerous that a lighthouse just had to be built. Numerous wrecks can be found along the coast. Dangerous winter storms and waves which can reach 30 meters high gave this piece of coast its reputation. The very shallow Agulhas bank and very strong winds, combined with the conflicting currents of the warm Agulhas current and the cold Benguela current creates a nightmare for any navigator. One of these ships was the Japanese Meisho Mauro which sank as recently as 16 November 1982. She was carrying 240 tons of tuna on that fatal day. Luckily all 17 crew members managed to swim to shore.

8. The Meisho Mauro on the spot where she ran ashore.

9. Climbing to see the actual ocean

10. This is where oceans meet

These types of waters can sink even large ships. For this reason, the Agulhas lighthouse was built in 1848. Michel Breda, mayor of the Cape at that time, gave a part of his farm, Zoetendalsvalleij, for the lighthouse to be built on. It is modeled after the Pharos of Alexandria. This is the second oldest lighthouse in the country and at the time of its completion it cost approximately £12 000. The lighthouse in Green Point, near Cape Town, is the oldest. L’Agulhas is also the only settlement in South Africa that developed around a lighthouse.

11.The lighthouse

There are 71 steps to the top of the lighthouse. They are in fact not steps, but straight-up ladders. Going to the top was easy. Coming back down, I was trembling a little. The lighthouse keeper’s house has been transformed into a small museum and coffee shop. The light of the lighthouse was first lit on the 1st of April 1847. They choose a very good day as this is also my birthday! A Frenchman, Le Paute, was the engineer of the optical apparatus for the lighthouse and this was where the French name L'Agulhas was attributed to.

12. Climbing to the top

13. View from the top

14. View from the bottom

15. Hyperventilation time

16. Fibre glass figurehead of the French ship, Marie Elise, that was wrecked on 6 November 1877

After all this stressful climbing, we had some lunch at a nearby restaurant. Next we headed to Struisbaai where there are more shops to buy some things for dinner that night.

17. The most Southern Cafe in Africa

18. Shopping for dinner

19. 11356 kilometers away from Tunis, the most Northern point in Africa

We then returned to Arniston to continue the rest of our exploration of this dangerous coast.

Two weeks in Europe, four amazing countries, nine amazing cities and two disappointing cities. That was my European tour 2011. After visiting France, Monaco, Italy and Spain I can safely say that I am the fondest about Spain. Even though I only saw Cannes while in France, the French are still notably rude. Italy is overrun by tourists and you have to wait two hours to see anything famous. Spain is relaxed and there are less tourists which makes everything more accessible and of course cheaper. Then again, Italy has all the sightseeing possibilities where Spain doesn’t really compare in that area.

"There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign." – Robert Louis Stevenson

Florence is magical and beautiful. Monaco is expensive, but amazingly European and elegant. Barcelona is busy, but tolerable with amazingly cheap food and clothes and a good atmosphere. Malaga is charming, relaxed, not busy at all and a city which puts a smile on your face. Ibiza is good for partying; do not waste your time with sightseeing as this is not what you do there. Palermo and Gibraltar are not recommended.

And what about taking a vacation on a cruise ship? You see many cities and places without having to pack your bags each day and move to a new hotel in another city. Your hotel and your room moves with you. The problem with a cruise is that you are always in a rush to see everything, because of the limited time (usually halve a day) that you have in ports.

As I am a lover of statistics, I cannot help mapping out my trip:

Distance travelled:
By plane – 21 482 km / 13 348 miles
By ship – 4 775 km / 2 578 nautical miles
By train - 454 km / 282 miles
By foot – unknown, but a lot of walking was done!

And let’s be completely corny and say:

Money spent vs. experience gained = Priceless

A wonderful two weeks have gone by and I feel a little sad that it had to end. I met some wonderful people and I spent two wonderful weeks with Laraine. The last night it hit me and I was a little teary eyed to leave. Being on holiday always sends you into the heights of space and when you return, the dreaded feeling of reality always jerks you right back to the ground. Thankfully, December is not that far off and I’ll transfer my “depressing back to reality, work and the university books feeling” to excitement about our family holiday that we will be taking then. It’s not that far away right?

PS: I am completely in love with my new camera. It's a FujiFilm F500 EXR and took all of the photos from this trip.

Gibraltar is a peninsula of mainland Spain and a small strip of land which is dominated by ‘the Rock’. You can see Morocco in the distance, but walking to Europoint, where the lighthouse and the furthest point of Africa is, is a bit of a long walk into the nature reserve and up ‘the Rock’. Instead I walk around town until I finally find the Main Street. This is where everything happens in Gibraltar it seems. The pictures of Gibraltar are not that great, but I contribute this to my total lack of inspiration in this place.

1. First look at the Rock

2. Getting lost means you have to walk through tunnels

Gibraltar reminds me of a little beach town and there really isn’t much to see here. Walking down Main Street, I enter some shops and look at clothes, but no 3euro dresses can be seen here. The clothes are on a 50% off sale in most places, but still cost 20euro. It is interesting to see how most of the price tags in clothing stores are shown in euros, pounds and dollars. At al the other places the prices are indicated in pounds, but you can still pay in euro. There are no indicated euro prices on items, and I don’t know if the shopkeepers are really good at converting to euro or if they just make up the price as they go along, but they known all the euro prices.

3. The square at the beginning of Main Street

4. Main Street

Gibraltar is also famous for the Barbary Apes. According to legend, if the Apes leave Gibraltar then Gibraltar will cease to remain a British colony. In the past this legend was taken so seriously that the British army used to feed the Apes. I didn't see one Ape.

Gibraltar may be a colony of the United Kingdom, but its physical connection to Spain cannot be denied. The main currency in Gibraltar is pound, fish and chips shops are around every corner and men drink pints on street corners; but English still seems to fail the people here. Whoever I spoke to or asked for directions looked at me in a blank way and just spoke English. Maybe I just unluckily spoke to the wrong people?

5. Signs that the British were, are and will be here

6. The Irish part of town

You would think that the Gibraltarians would choose to be a part of Spain, but this is not the case. When the United Nations forced Britain to decolonise Gibraltar in the 1960’s, the people voted over-whelmingly to stay a part of Britain. Over 44 out of the 12 000 voters, voted against Britain. In 2002 they held another referendum and this time only 187 of the 20 000 voters voted against Britain. Apparently these Gibraltarians love Britain even though they are in no rush to learn English. In 2004 Gibraltar celebrated 300 years as a British colony.

John Galliano, who was the head designer of Givenchy and most recently Dior, is from Gibraltar. John Lennon and Joko Ono got married in Gibraltar on 20 March 1969 and the lyrics of the Ballad of John & Joko by The Beatles reflect this: "You can make it OK, you can get married in Gibraltar." Sean Connory married both his wives at Gibraltar. The Prince of Wales, Charles and Diana started their honeymoon in Gibraltar. Kaiane Aldorino, is also from Gibraltar and was Miss World 2009.

7. Miss World 2009 - A Gibraltar local

At the end of Main Street, there is not much left to do. I exit Main Street, buy an ice-cream and make my way back to the ship.

8. Docked at Gibraltar

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