The Cape of Good Hope

Early last month we took advantage of the free entry offered to SA citizens at our National Parks. 

Despite it being a school day, we enjoyed the freedom and spontaneity of making this a field trip day. 

We fetched some friends and went off on an adventure for the morning.

We drove out on the coast road, alongside False Bay, heading south to Cape Point. Along the way we stopped near Miller's Point to admire the views of the bay, and in the hopes of possibly spotting a whale or two...

 The kids ran down the hillside onto the beach and enjoyed clambering over huge granite boulders.

Sadly no whales were spotted.

We headed along the winding coast road, enjoying the views and looking out for baboons and whales along the way. Finally we reached the Table Mountain National Park, The Cape of Good Hope.

 The park encompasses 7 750 hectares with a 40 kilometer coastline of beaches, bays and sheer cliffs. It is vast and diverse with rocky mountainous areas , beaches and open sea. The Cape of Good Hope is popularly believed to be the meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans , but geographically these oceans meet at Cape Agulhas National Park.

There are at least 250 species of birds and numerous small animals in the park . Larger animals are a rare sight. We were lucky enough to spot a herd of Eland grazing as well as a troop of baboons in the distance.

The Cape of Good Hope is an integral part of the Cape Floral Kingdom which is the smallest but richest of the world's six floral kingdoms. There are numerous indigenous plants and some that do not occur naturally in other parts of the world. The scent of fynbos is rich and aromatic. 

A scent I never tire of.

We enjoyed driving through the park on roads we have not taken before. 

We stopped at Olifantsbos Point and strolled to the look out point.

The views spectacular....

While climbing around on the rocks, our friend shouted out that she found a clay head. 

Of course we thought she was joking and we all climbed up to take a look....

There it was, nestled in the rocks.

 A surprising and rather strange find.

 We really could not figure out why this sculpture was hidden in the rocks in the middle of nowhere!

We made our way south to the parking lot,  curio shops and restaurant.

 The view looking back over False Bay, just beautiful!

 The sea was flat and glassy and numerous fishing boats dotted the water below.

Instead of taking the funicular, we opted to walk up the mountain to the old lighthouse.

View of Dias Beach.

 There were bus loads of tourists making their way up and down. I reminded the kids we are privileged and blessed to live in a truly beautiful city and that many travel from afar in order to visit this place.

Once again, the views from 200 + meters above the vast swirling ocean...incredible.

We reached the old lighthouse, 249 m above sea level.

The new lighthouse was spotted in the distance on Dias Point.

The kids thoroughly enjoyed the morning out in the fresh sea air and taking in the views of this world heritage site. 

Before we left, we bought some postcards to use for cultural exchange parcels or postcrossing.

Thank you to Hip Homeschool Moms for the opportunity to link up with their Field Trips Around the World series.  We hope that if you haven't visited the Cape of Good Hope, you will!