Travel

Cape Agulhas: Where Two Oceans Meet

Posted on 18th Sep 2017

We woke up early Thursday morning, packed up our car and said farewell to De Hoop Nature Reserve. We were making a bee-line to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa and the special place where two oceans meet.

I got the kids excited for the visit by telling them about the lighthouse, while we, the adults, worried about the gale force wind warning.

Cape Agulhas is situated about a 2.5-hour drive from Cape Town and next to the town of Struisbaai. Visiting the southernmost tip of Africa is a once in a lifetime experience where you can view the second-oldest working lighthouse in South Africa and take your photo at the iconic spot where the two oceans meet.

Once we got there we parked by the lighthouse and after taking a few photos we made our way inside. We paid a small fee to access the tiny museum and to climb the stairs up to the top of the lighthouse.

Now, I must warn you, those stairs are more like ladders, and they were steep and slightly scary and there are 71 of them. My 2 and 6-year-old found them too scary – they didn’t make it all the way to the top. My mom waited with the boys while I took the last – scariest – ladder to the top. But it was worth it, all 71 steps to the top. Once I got up and climbed out the door I was greeted by the most spectacular view and howling wind.

After all that climbing, we made our way to the point where the two oceans meet. Did you know that you can put your one foot in the Indian Ocean and the other in the Atlantic Ocean at the same time? I didn’t do that because the wind was picking up and we still had 2,5-hours to drive to get back to Cape Town.