Maclear Beach

After lunch, we got back on the bus for the 20-minute drive to the Cape of Good Hope National Park. Despite the gloomy day, the beauty of the park was immediately apparent. Rico explained to us about the flora and fauna found in the park. During our time there, we were lucky enough to see most of the large animals that it is possible to see. These are eland, the largest antelope in South Africa, ostriches, and baboons. We saw three female ostriches on the road in front of the bus, and then the unusual sight of a male and female on the beach with the sea crashing behind them! We saw this from a moving bus, so were not able to get clear photos.

In the park, we stopped at the Cape Point lighthouse. It was a fifteen-minute walk up to the lighthouse itself, but because of the bad weather, we opted to take the funicular. At the top, it was incredibly windy!! I didn’t feel at all safe as we peered over the cliff to take pictures! There is a weather station up there. Studies have shown that the air here is the purest of anywhere on the planet. Scientists believe that this is due in part to its proximity to Antarctica. We didn’t notice any particular difference!!Read more