The wrecks of some 130 seafaring craft – yachts, Spanish galleons, Dutch East Indiamen, the legendary Birkenhead, even modern-day fishing trawlers – have found a watery grave around the notorious Cape of Storms.
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| |  The 150-year-old lighthouse at Cape Agulhas today serves as a museum and one of the area’s main attractions. | |
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Some have been immortalised in the names of Overberg towns like Arniston, while others are remembered only by the furniture, artefacts, figureheads or cannon given up by the capricious sea and preserved in South Africa’s only shipwreck museum at Bredasdorp.
Gale-force winds still batter this stretch of coast that has been home to humans for more than 300 years, but these days it’s a lot safer exploring the Overberg, sandwiched between the sea and the mountains and dotted with quaint towns rich in history.
Stone Cairn
The Overberg region is best known as the southernmost tip of Africa as well as the geographic point at which the cold Atlantic and warm Indian oceans meet. A simple stone cairn, constructed in 1986, marks the exact spot off the littlevillage of l’Agulhas.
The 150-year-old lighthouse at Cape Agulhas, modelled on the Pharos at Alexandria, has been replaced by a more modern warning light and today serves as a museum and one of the area’s main attractions.
But Cape Agulhus – the name means Cape of Needles and was given to the region by 16th-century Portuguese explorers – offers far more than history to the visitor, though there is plenty of that.
Scenic Drive
Just a two-hour drive from Cape Town, one reaches Napier via the Elgin Valley (the apple capital of South Africa) on a road that skirts a belt of Cape fold mountains. It is the gateway to a treasure trove of indigenous fynbos, horse and hiking trails, 4x4 coastal safaris, quaint fishing villages, nature reserves, marine birdlife, whale-watching and a host of annual festivals linked to the traditional fishing and farming nature of the area.
Bredasdorp, the main Overberg centre founded in 1838, has undergone dramatic changes since the 1980s, when residents first received electricity. Thanks to an influx of crafters, visitors can now shop for hand-made candles and ceramics, dine on traditional Cape cuisine at any number of restaurants and bistros or stay overnight in the myriad guesthouses that dot the coastline.
Whales and other Wonders
But it’s the natural wonders of Cape Agulhas that offer a unique experience: the 300-year-old middens, or refuse heaps, formed by the indigenous Khoi-Khoi from discarded shells; the coastal cave at Waenhuiskrans (Arniston) with its lime-green interior that can be accessed only at low tide; the Southern Right whales that return to breed in these waters every year from May to October; the 2 000 species of indigenous plants, some 100 of them found only here; the rich birdlife and fur seals on the offshore islands; the magnificent milkwood trees at Renosterfontein; and the highly prized nautilus or argonaut shellthat washes onto the beaches between April and August.
Eco-tours are available on foot, by quad bike or in 4x4 vehicles, allowing tourists to explore the many nature reserves that have sprung up along the coast.
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| |  The town of Elim, a Moravian mission station established in 1824, has been declared a national monument. | |
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Fishing villages as picturesque as anything to be found on a Greek island welcome visitors. The whitewashed cottages of Kassiesbaai, home to fisherfolk for some 200 years, have been declared a national monument, as has Elim, a Moravian mission station established in 1824.
Annual Festivals
While it is possible to visit the region and see many of the main attractions on a day trip, those who stay longer can enjoy the full Overberg experience by timing a visit to coincide with one of the many annual festivals honouring such local delicacies as yellowtail and sweet potatoes, or the horse and cart,and the natural flora.
First settled by Dutch farmers in 1710, the area around Bredasdorp was the original centre of Merino sheep farming in South Africa and agriculture is still the lifeblood of the region, though wheat and canola are now the main crops produced.
However, wool tours are available to visitors and events such as lambing, shearing, ploughing and grain harvesting remain firmly marked on the Overberg calendar as annual highlights.
The intimate relationship between the sea and those who rely on it for survival is also marked by annual events such as a rubberduck contest, National Marine Week in October and a yellowtail derby.
Landmark
One the loveliest landmarks among the guesthouses and holiday homes along the coast is the Arniston Hotel, from where guests can set off on a leisurely stroll to explore the many rock pools that are home to periwinkles, starfish and purple sea anemones. In 1996, Time magazine voted the hotel oneof the world’s Top 10 hideaways.
The seas off Cape Agulhas are no less dangerous than they ever were, but the land where two oceans meet has long since been tamed and the welcome mat is firmly out for visitors seeking a combination of spectacular natural attractions and warm hospitality.
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