Mossel Bay, South Africa
Early this morning as the fog lifted we could see the beautiful outlines of Mosselbaai. The ship gently took us alongside and here were our favorite drivers and guides waiting for us again, as they have been doing all along from the beginning of our journey. They took us for a short ride to the museum complex where in beautifully kept gardens we could at last see the famous post office tree where early European explorers used to put a message in a shoe, tied to a branch, for the next incoming ship. It was a beautiful old milkwood tree.
Close by was the shell museum with its incredible collection and also featuring a few aquariums with amazing fishes like lionfish, clownfish, sea horses, a lot of anemones, and even a rock lobster eating a mussel right in front of us!
Then we went to the Maritime Museum and had a close look at the replica ship Bartholomeu Dias that had been built in Spain and sailed all the way to Mossel Bay to retrace the route of the first Portuguese vessel to round the Cape of Good Hope. A lot of old marine objects and ancient maps were displayed as well as the history of the encounters between these first mariners and the local people.
As we could see from our walk along the shore a little while later, the Koi and San had been living here and had been using the local resources that are plentiful. On our walk at Cape St Blaize we noticed three fishing traps, pools from rocks piled up to make walls to hold the retreating tide and thus trap fish. Further up on the beautiful sandstone cliffs were some “Dassies” or Rock Hyrax enjoying the sunshine and also a big cave or rock shelter that the hunter-gatherers used to protect themselves. Moving up along the path bordered by little flowers, we had some beautiful coastal views of the rough waters at the base of those amazing orange cliffs, flown over by kelp gulls with a rare sighting of a peregrine falcon trying to catch one of the plentiful doves nesting nearby.
Unfortunately it was time to head back to the ship and to say our last goodbyes to our loyal drivers and guides who now had to drive the 300 miles back to Cape Town.
Early this morning as the fog lifted we could see the beautiful outlines of Mosselbaai. The ship gently took us alongside and here were our favorite drivers and guides waiting for us again, as they have been doing all along from the beginning of our journey. They took us for a short ride to the museum complex where in beautifully kept gardens we could at last see the famous post office tree where early European explorers used to put a message in a shoe, tied to a branch, for the next incoming ship. It was a beautiful old milkwood tree.
Close by was the shell museum with its incredible collection and also featuring a few aquariums with amazing fishes like lionfish, clownfish, sea horses, a lot of anemones, and even a rock lobster eating a mussel right in front of us!
Then we went to the Maritime Museum and had a close look at the replica ship Bartholomeu Dias that had been built in Spain and sailed all the way to Mossel Bay to retrace the route of the first Portuguese vessel to round the Cape of Good Hope. A lot of old marine objects and ancient maps were displayed as well as the history of the encounters between these first mariners and the local people.
As we could see from our walk along the shore a little while later, the Koi and San had been living here and had been using the local resources that are plentiful. On our walk at Cape St Blaize we noticed three fishing traps, pools from rocks piled up to make walls to hold the retreating tide and thus trap fish. Further up on the beautiful sandstone cliffs were some “Dassies” or Rock Hyrax enjoying the sunshine and also a big cave or rock shelter that the hunter-gatherers used to protect themselves. Moving up along the path bordered by little flowers, we had some beautiful coastal views of the rough waters at the base of those amazing orange cliffs, flown over by kelp gulls with a rare sighting of a peregrine falcon trying to catch one of the plentiful doves nesting nearby.
Unfortunately it was time to head back to the ship and to say our last goodbyes to our loyal drivers and guides who now had to drive the 300 miles back to Cape Town.
