How to get to the Cape of Good Hope. Cape of Good Hope

Bartolomeo Dias, a Portuguese navigator, was the first to round the cape in 1488. When he returned, he stopped at the southwestern tip of Africa and called it Cape of Storms. But King John II of Portugal renamed it, calling it Cape Good Hope. Vasco da Gama's ship rounded this cape in 1497 on its way to India. The bold voyages of the Portuguese navigators made it possible to establish a sea route around the cape, then regular voyages began, but due to the deceptive coastline and dangerous fogs, these places have seen many shipwrecks.

In order to reduce the risk of possible disasters, it was decided to build a lighthouse on the cape. The first lighthouse was built in 1857 at 238 m above sea level, but it turned out to be so high that fog and clouds obscure it for more than 900 hours a year. After the Portuguese liner Lusitania sank in 1911, the lighthouse was moved to another location and built only 87 meters above sea level. Construction work began in 1913 and continued for almost six years due to the difficulty of delivering building materials here and unfavorable conditions. weather conditions. The lighthouse is the most powerful on the coast of South Africa. Visible at a distance of 63 km, it emits three flashes of light every 30 seconds with a power of 10 million candles.

The area around the lighthouse

On the shore around the lighthouse, today you can see the remains of 26 ships that failed to round the cape. One of the most famous shipwrecks was the sinking of the USS Thomas T. Tucker, one of hundreds of ships built by the United States to help the Allies transport supplies during World War II. On its first voyage, the ship lost its course due to fog and collided with rocks.

The picturesque area around the lighthouse consists of green hills through which trails lead down to secluded beaches where elan antelopes, baboons, ostriches and bonteboks, brightly colored antelopes, are found. From this side of the cape, it’s hard to even imagine how many tragedies happened so close by.

To find the Cape of Good Hope, sailors set out on their journey more than once, suffered failures and wrecks, but did not stop searching - the road to India must be open. It was the rocky cape, which is the most extreme point in southwest Africa, the place where the waters of two oceans collide with each other, forming a seething white stripe crashing against the rocks, that opened the way for them to Asia.

The Cape of Good Hope is located in Africa and is the southernmost part of the Cape Peninsula, from where it turns north and after forty-five meters abuts Cape Point, at the foot of which, on the opposite side, begins False Bay, whose waters are heated by the warm current of the Indian Ocean .

The temperature of both air and water in the east of the peninsula is much warmer than on its western side, where the Benguela Current flows from Antarctica. True, the winds blow stronger here and tourists are rarely allowed to calmly soak up the warm rays.

Despite the fact that the Cape of Good Hope has long been considered the most extreme point of Africa, it is actually Cape Agulhas (on the map it is located more than one hundred and fifty kilometers in a southeast direction).

This cape is notable for the fact that from here the African coast turns east for the first time and opens a passage between the Atlantic and Indian oceans (you can accurately calculate where the Cape of Good Hope is on the map using the following coordinates: 34° 21′ 32.88″ S. , 18° 28′ 21.06″ E).

History of discovery

The Cape of Good Hope was discovered at the end of the 15th century. Portuguese Bartolomeu Dias, to whom the king set a specific task. It was necessary to find out whether it was possible to go around Africa from the south and get to India. For his country, located in western Europe, it was extremely costly to organize land expeditions to Asia.

The discovery of the Cape of Good Hope happened by accident, and unexpected help was provided by a terrifying storm that mercilessly tossed the Portuguese ships for several days: when the ocean calmed down, it turned out that Dias had no idea where the bad weather had taken him. He randomly went north and after some time found himself off the coast of Africa, which turned in an easterly direction.

True, he did not sail further: provisions were running out, the ships were in poor condition, and the crew rebelled. They decided to return home, and on the way he noticed a cape, rounding which he saw that the coast of Africa stretches north, home.

It is interesting that initially, having seen the ocean waves beating against high rocks, he decided to call this piece of land the Cape of Storms.

But the king of Portugal did not like the ominous name, and he gave it a more optimistic name - the Cape of Good Hope, hoping that the road to India had really been discovered. His hope was justified: a few years later, Vasco da Gama, having passed the Cape of Good Hope, sailed to India.

Cape lighthouses

Calling the rocky area of ​​land protruding into the sea Cape Storms, Dias gave it a fairly accurate name: strong currents, winds, storms, fogs, and sometimes icebergs floating into this area led to the wreck of a huge number of ships. An important role in this was played by the fact that the rocks along the coast were not only similar to each other, but also often shrouded in fog.

This often threw sailors sailing from India off course: they turned north ahead of time and ended up in False Bay.

If they were lucky, the ships would hit the sandy shore, but mostly they would just crash on the rocks. This bay is notable for the fact that sailing ship It is not always possible to get out of it - despite the fact that it is very windy here, you can easily spend almost six months here waiting for a suitable air flow.

Despite all these circumstances, the authorities on the cape built a lighthouse only in the middle of the 19th century. - and then, after during one of the inspections, inspectors noticed icebergs floating towards the coast. Ice blocks off the coast of Africa shocked them so much that the decision to build a lighthouse and observation post here was made almost immediately. It was built on the nearby Cape Point Mountain, which offers a magnificent view of the Cape of Good Hope.

Lighthouse No. 1

Construction of the first lighthouse was completed in 1860. It was located at an altitude of 270 m - and it could be seen from a distance of 80 km. There was one “but”: it was designed in Britain, so the British, unfamiliar with the climatic features of southern Africa, did not take into account one detail: the top of the mountain on which it was decided to install the structure was often shrouded in clouds at night, making the lighthouse absolutely useless. At the same time, it “served” for about half a century, until journalists paid attention to the problem.

The first case that attracted widespread public attention was the wreck in 1900 of the newest steamship Cockapoo, which was heading from Britain to New Zealand.

Deceived by the lighthouse and low clouds, the captain gave the wrong command, as a result of which a high tidal wave threw the ship onto the coast. The authorities managed to hush up this story, accusing the captain of negligence.

But the crash that happened eleven years later could not be silenced: the huge Portuguese liner Lusitania hit a reef a few kilometers from a working, but completely obscured by clouds, lighthouse. It was possible to save the passengers (there were almost eight hundred people on the ship) only because the ship sat very firmly on the reef, which gave time to launch all the rescue boats.

The lighthouse keeper, having received the distress signal, descended with a lit lantern, orienting the liner's crew and allowing almost all the boats to land safely on the shore, except one (it capsized and four of its passengers died). The decision to build a second lighthouse was made, but this one was closed and now serves as a museum, with magnificent views from the observation deck.

Lighthouse No. 2

Despite the fact that the new lighthouse is located lower, at an altitude of 88 meters, and can be seen at a shorter distance, 40 km, its benefits were much greater - shipwrecks in this area were almost reduced to zero. At the end of the 20th century, an electric cable was laid to the lighthouse, restaurants were erected, a funicular was installed leading from the parking lot to the top of the mountain adjacent to the cape, Cane Point, and after conducting an appropriate advertising campaign, they gave impetus to the development of a successful tourism business.

National Park

The Cape of Good Hope is separated from the second most populous city in South Africa, Cape Town, by almost seventy kilometers, and therefore you can get from the capital of the Western Cape Province, armed with a map, by car on a very good road in four hours.

The road will not seem boring, since the path here lies through the Table Mountain National Park, whose area exceeds 7 thousand hectares, and it is distinguished by extremely lush vegetation.

The fauna of the reserve is also interesting: next to monkeys, ostriches, antelopes and cheetahs, spectacled penguins and fur seals feel great here, which not only sailed here from Antarctica, but also managed to adapt to the conditions of local life.

Spectacled penguins Penguins live on called Boulders Beach. It was no coincidence that they chose this place of residence: the cold waters of the Bengal Current help the birds endure the heat - they spend most of their time in the water. And only during nesting, in winter, when the air temperature becomes more or less optimal, do they stay on land for a long time. Interestingly, they hatch their eggs in burrows that they dig in the decomposed remains of bird droppings, which helps protect the eggs from overheating.

They are enabled to maintain optimal body temperature by pink-colored markings located above the eyes and acting as a kind of air conditioner: when birds become very hot, heated blood begins to flow faster to the markings, where, thanks to the thin skin, it quickly cools.

Seal Island

Sometimes fur seals rest near the cape, having swum here from their rookery located on small island, just behind the lighthouse, in False Bay (about 75 thousand animals live there). Such a huge colony could not help but attract the attention of white sharks constantly swimming into this bay.

Therefore, from May to September, the island of fur seals is literally surrounded by predators who patiently wait for prey, and as soon as they see an opportunity, they jump out and grab the seal with their teeth and go to the bottom. Interestingly, False Bay is the only place in the world where sharks jump completely out of the water while hunting.

Let's say right away that the Cape of Good Hope is not the southernmost point of Africa. But he is definitely the most famous in all of it south coast.
In the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries (from the end of the 15th century), ships, skirting the continent, changed course for the first time, turning east towards the Indian Ocean, right here. Therefore, people considered this cape to be the southernmost. Since then, science has stepped forward and clarified that in fact Cape Agulhas, located 150 km to the southeast, should be considered the southern point of the mainland. And the Cape of Good Hope bears the honorary title of the most southwestern point of the African continent.

Cape of Good Hope on the map

• Geographic coordinates -34.357890, 18.475453
• The distance from the capital of South Africa, Pretoria, is approximately 1340 km
• Distance to nearest international airport Cape Town about 45km

An interesting fact is that there are 3 capitals in South Africa. Pretoria is the official capital of the state. But the parliament is in Cape Town, and the supreme court is in Bloemfontein. And these cities are also called capitals. This is explained as follows: at the beginning of its formation, South Africa was a confederation, which included 3 territories - the Republic of South Africa (Pretoria), the possessions of Britain (Cape Town), and a country with a very exotic name Orange Free State (Bloemfontein). When South Africa was formed, it was decided to distribute authorities evenly across these cities.

Let us return to the Cape of Good Hope. It was originally called the Cape of Storms. And for good reason.
The history of the name is as follows:
Europeans were looking for a sea route to India. For this purpose, in the middle of the last millennium, an expedition set out from Portugal. And in 1488, Captain Bartolomeo Dias rounded this cape for the first time. But these guys didn’t manage to get to India, because the team got tired and rebelled. Dias was forced to turn back. On the way back, a storm raged in the area of ​​the cape. The ship and its crew were pretty battered. The sailor did not invent an original name, calling the rocky ledge simply Cape of Storms. A little later, King Juan II of Portugal decided to rename it the Cape of Good Hope, rightly believing that such a name would not only not scare off other sailors, but would also give them hope for a quick completion of the journey.

The king's initiative paid off. Already in 1497, Vasco Da Gama paved the way from the Old World to India. The expedition was successful, and since then the name Cape of Good Hope has been firmly attached to this rocky outcrop. Many sailors began to use this route.

Yes, of course, the souls of the sailors were filled with hope when approaching this cape, because more than half of the journey was behind them. Joy spread across the faces of the team. But no matter how amazing and bewitching the Cape of Good Hope attracts attention, it is quite dangerous for sailors. Storms and storms are quite normal for these places. To this day, about three dozen sunken ships can be seen in the surrounding waters.

To facilitate navigation, a lighthouse 238 meters high above sea level was built in 1857. But it turned out to be too high, and sometimes clouds and fog completely covered it.

After another shipwreck in 1911, a decision was made to move the lighthouse. From 1913 to 1919, the lighthouse was built in a different place and not so high. The new lighthouse rises only 87 meters above sea level. But it can be seen from a distance of more than 60 km. This is the most powerful lighthouse on the entire southern coast of Africa. Since then, the sea route in the area of ​​the cape has become much safer.

There is an interesting misunderstanding. In fact, ships, passing from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, round Cape Point, located a little further. But it is the Cape of Good Hope that enjoys worldwide fame.

Behind Cape Point is a cozy Falsbay Bay, similar to Hawaiian Hanauma Bay. There is beautiful beach, washed by the warm current of the Indian Ocean.

Excellent beaches on the border of two oceans, stunning views of the surrounding area, and the diversity of flora and fauna in the Cape of Good Hope area attract a huge number of tourists.

Cape of Good Hope in photographs

Cape of Good Hope(Cape of Good Hope) is famous for having long been considered the southernmost point of Africa. Then they calculated that the southernmost point of the continent is Cape Agulhas, located one and a half hundred miles to the southeast from the Cape of Good Hope.

But no one knows Cape Agulhas, and the Cape of Good Hope is included in all school geography textbooks; it is associated with the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, this is what hundreds of thousands of tourists and travelers from all over the world strive to see.

Sasha Mitrakhovich 06.04.2016 08:56

It is known that the first European to see this African Cape of Good Hope was in 1488 Bartolomeo Dias, the famous Portuguese commander of the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries.

The expedition of Bartolomeo Dias was given the task of finding a sea route to India around Africa. Dias did not reach India, but became the first European to circumnavigate Africa from the south. Indirectly, he was helped in this by the terrible storms that battered his ships for several days. When the storms subsided, the disorientated Dias headed north and on February 3, 1488 ran into the coast, which “turned” to the northeast.

And so the way was opened to Indian Ocean. Dias was forced to give in to the demands of the rebellious team and did not go further. On the way back, he saw this cape protruding into the sea, which he called the Cape of Storms, because severe storms were constantly raging in this place.

Dias announced this “working” name upon his return to Portugal in his report to King João II. But His Majesty was wise and far-sighted. He decided that it was not good to leave such a harsh name for the turning point, beyond which a direct sea route to India opened. And he suggested calling this place the Cape of Good Hope. Or in Portuguese Cabo de Boa Esperanca.

The cape lived up to its name. In 1497, Vasco da Gama's expedition rounded the Cape of Good Hope and finally reached the treasured shores of India!

Sasha Mitrakhovich 06.04.2016 09:01

Today it is the territory of the Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa. Nearest Big city Cape Town. The Cape of Good Hope itself is the national pride and tourist attraction of South Africa. It fits organically into national park or a reserve with the same name “Cape of Good Hope” or in English “Cape of Good Hope”.

As already mentioned, the Cape of Good Hope is not only not the southernmost, but also not the most southwestern point of Africa. The most southwestern point is the completely inconspicuous ledge of Cape Point, located fifty meters to the north. And it is on it that a lighthouse with the name “Cape of Good Hope” is installed. AND Observation deck, where all tourists take their memorable photos.

And at the Cape of Good Hope there is a shield with the name and exact coordinates and the inscription “the most southwestern point of Africa.”

Location of the Cape of Good Hope on the World Map:

Sasha Mitrakhovich 06.04.2016 09:04

You can get to the Cape of Good Hope, located on the Cape Peninsula, from Cape Town. The journey by car will take about four hours. Time will pass unnoticed, because along the way you will encounter a very beautiful area: a savannah where ostriches, antelopes, baboons and other animals roam, mountains, a nature reserve.

The Cape of Good Hope is the most southwestern point of Africa. It is impossible to make a mistake, since this fact is confirmed by both scientists and an inscription with exact coordinates installed on the site in front of the cape. But the Cape Peninsula at this point reaches its most southern point and, going north, ends at Cape Point.

Excursions to the Cape of Good Hope

Typically, excursions to the Cape of Good Hope include a visit to the reserve, as well as the shore with a penguin haven. We'll tell you about a few more places that are worth seeing. On the coast of False Bay, or “False Bay,” a winding road is laid through the mountains. Along it you can get to the town of Simon's Town, where the British Royal Navy was previously based.

The coast of the Cape of Good Hope itself has its own characteristics. For example, on the western side the climate is milder, there are beaches, sandy shores, and an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. In the east it is warmer, but strong winds blow, which make it difficult to swim and enjoy the scenery. On this part of the coast, not everyone takes the risk of swimming; tourists prefer to just sit on the shore and breathe the ocean air.

The island of fur seals is of great interest to travelers. Its area is only 4 square kilometers - small for an island, and it conducts its turbulent history since the 17th century. The fact is that for three centuries there was a prison here, military base and a hospital. And it was on this island that freedom fighter and future South African President Nelson Mandela served his sentence. In 1999, the island became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A museum has opened here, telling about the history of the country. Tourists can visit the prison yard and cells.

You can get to the island by ferry, which leaves Waterfront every day until 15:00. On average, the excursion lasts 3.5-4 hours.

Sasha Mitrakhovich 06.04.2016 09:25