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Cape Point is at the south east corner of the Cape Peninsula forming the southwestern tip of Africa. Here two contrasting water masses join, they are the warm Agulhas of the eastern coast and the cold Benguela of the western coast.
The area is rich in flora and funa, with its cliffs towering more than 200 meters above the sea at the southern point. These cliffs consists of 3 distinct promontories (a point of high land that juts out into a large body of water). These being Cape Maclear, Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point.
In 1857 a lighthouse was built on the cape point Peak, some 238 meters above sea level. However, clouds and fog often obscured the light house (due to its position) making it invisible to ships for 900 hours a year on average.
On the 18th of April 1911 the Lusitania, a Portuguese liner, ran aground. After that the lighthouse was moved to it current location of 87 meters above sea-level. The light house is the most powerful on the South African Coast, with a range of 63 Km.
Beside the Lusitania, Cape Point has been the site of numerous other shipwrecks including the T Tucker an American Liberty Ship, the Nolloth a Dutch trawler and many more.
The area was proclaimed a nature reserve in 1938 and incorporated into the Table Mountain National Park in 1998 |
