The Cape Point lighthouse is located at the edge of table mountain in the southwest tip of South Africa near Cape Town. The reason of building this lighthouse because of several mishaps which happened as the ships could not see this rocky shore due to fog and windy conditions, and ran into these rocks of Cape Point. There are several shipwrecks in this area. This is also known as the Cape of good hope and is a fairly popular tourist destination for visitors coming to Cape Town. The southern most point of Africa is 150 kilometers towards southeast.
At the Cape point there are two peaks, the lower peak is about 150 meters further south from the higher one. When the first lighthouse was constructed at the 238 meters above the sea level at the peak of cape point, it was not realized that the weather conditions (fog, clouds and height of lighthouse) will prevent the proper functioning for about 900 hours in a year. Additionally the light of the old Cape Point Lighthouse was invisible to ships at sea, at a certain angle. In 1911 another Portuguese ship was shipwrecked here, which prompted the authorities to build a new lighthouse, which is lower and more powerful. The new lighthouse was made 87 meters above the sea level and took 6 years to build (1913-1919). One would wonder that six years is a pretty long time, well if one walks the path from Cape Maclear to Cape Point along some of the steepest sea cliffs in the world then it becomes clear why. The light of the new Cape Point lighthouse is the most powerful on the South African coast, with a range of 63 kilometers (39 mi) and an intensity of 10 megacandela in each flash. Cape Point Lighthouse is a nice travel and tourism destination.
History & Other facts:
Bartholomeu Dias, the Portuguese seafarer, was the first to sail around the Cape point. This was in 1488. On his return voyage which must have been particularly stormy Dias stopped at the south-western tip of Africa, and named it Cabo Tormentoso, or Cape of Storms. King John of Portugal later gave it the name Cabo da Boa Esperança, or Cape of Good Hope. Another Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, rounded the Cape on 22 November 1497 on his way to India. The journeys of these explorers led to the establishment of the Cape sea route.
Situated in the 22,100 hectare Table Mountain National Park, a natural World Heritage Site. The circumnavigation of the Cape of Good Hope led to the establishment of a sea route to the East and subsequent trade. It has 26 recorded shipwrecks. Its a Bird watcher's paradise - at least 250 species. Approximately 1 100 indigenous plant species, some of which occur no where else on earth. Variety of buck, baboons and other animals. Swimming at Bordjiesrif and Buffel Bay tidal pools. Numerous scenic walks and trails. Excellent angling and diving spots. Whale and dolphin watching from May to November. Historical monuments including the Diaz and Da Gama crosses. The funicular - scenic trips to the old lighthouse. Up market and family accommodation. The Two Oceans Restaurant offers world class cuisine and spectacular vistas over False Bay . Three destination retail shops , each with an impressive range of high quality South African curios and Cape Point merchandise. More information : Friends of Cape of Good Hope PO Box 252, Simon’s Town, 7995, South Africa.
Reference: www.capepoint.co.za (History, Other facts)
