Cape Whale Coast Road Trip: Birdwatching and Natural Wonders of Cape Agulhas
Trip date – Beginning of November 2023
The coast that runs between Simon Town till just beyond L’Agulhas is known as Cape Whale Coast. It is the best place to spot whales from land as they come very close to the shore. Yes, we did see some whales even beyond the Whale Coast, but this section has more probability and better sightings. We covered first half of this road-trip when we traveled from Simon Town to Hermanus covered in this blog here. This blog is a continuation as we head on further east to explore the rest of the Whale Coast.
Map of the region from a free pamphlet
There are two ways to travel in the region between Hermanus and Wilderness (our next accommodation), South Africa –
One is the usual N2 which runs between Cape Town and Durban (goes over Hermanus and under Wilderness) – This is a great 4-lane high-speed highway running wedged between mountains and farmlands that can get you to George in 3 hours, big town next to Wilderness. Multiple side roads (R – reginal roads) take you to different towns, for example R319 is a detour to see Cape Agulhas which may add another hour or so.
The second is for adventurers like us, especially if you are a birder. This route goes along the coast via multiple regional road and can be done in a day or divided in a couple of days. If you do it in a day it can take close to 6-8 hours depending on how many times you stop in the way. This is also a great way to see some very cool spots like Danger Point, Elim and Cape Agulhas etc… Needless to say, we picked this route.
Enroute.
Below is an account of our experience with the second option 🙂 – but done in a day as birdwatchers, hmmf!
As we exited Hermanus, we took the R43 to Gaansbai via Stanford. The road goes around Walker Bay Nature Reserve and had some of the most beautiful views of mountains shrouded in clouds on one side and deep blue Atlantic ocean on the other. This road goes between a nature reserve so it’s quiet probable to see a passing Leopard or a Caracal or some kind of Antelope around, drive safely and keep a lookout!
R43, beautiful landscapes. unfortunately, it was grey on the day due to an upcoming storm
Closer to Gansbaai, the Nature Reserve started to transform into large farmlands with large herds of cows and horses. Gansbaai is extremely famous for its high density of sharks and is a top spot for spotting and cage diving with them, mainly with the Great Whites. Huh, as much as it saddens me and as much as I question the ethical practices while doing this – it’s happening, and it happens here more than anywhere in the world. Thankfully, at least all types of Sharks are protected under South African law.
Interestingly, Gansbaai is named after the Egyptian Geese that first Dutch settlers found foraging near the bay. Bay of Geese (Baai is Afrikaans for Bay). Some Red Billed Oyster-catchers searching treasures hidden in shored Kelp
Gansbaai is a small fishing town with the biggest canned fish factory and apart from tourism, the economy is based on fishing, Abalone and Kelp farming. Just a couple of months before our visit, this town had hit headlines when two notorious and rogue Orcas named Port and Starboard killed almost 20 sharks for their liver chasing away most big sharks out of the bay (they are still on the mission as I write).
There are hundreds of Whale Watching tours throughout the coast but only a few claim to be sustainable and follow the fair trade policies, the most popular in this area are Marine Dynamics. They do Whale Watching and Shark Cage Diving (hmmf!, it’s the thing to do when in Gansbaai) tours to the Dyer Islands.
An unusual shell collection from Gansbaai Harbour – worth the time spent beach combing
A couple on minutes beyond Gansbaai is Danger Point marked by it’s beautiful octagonal and very much operational lighthouse, marking one of the most treacherous sections of the South African coastline. This is where centuries ago the famous HMS Birkenhead sank.
Danger Point Lighthouse – closed to tourism
Just before Pearly Beach on R43, we drove inland through huge farmlands and small townships towards the historic town of Elim. The route was extremely pretty and the vast grasslands/farmland gave us excellent birdwatching opportunities. Elim is famous for its roofing craftsmanship and the local community runs cultural tours showing their roots and history, unfortunately, (or fortunately) all our time was occupied spotting birds and the patch which should have taken only 45mins took close to 90mins.
Hereford Cattle, reared for beef – Cute but yum!
A bit beyond Nuwejaars Wetlands Special Management Area is the dirt road which goes around and between various private nature reserves and farmlands towards Cape Agulhas and Agulhas National Park. This dirt road in itself is a birder’s paradise. We took our time slowly meandering through these vast expanses of grasslands/wetlands and kept our eyes focused in search of new birds. We were a bit worried at the back of our minds if we were lost or going the correct way as this road was such a contrast to the roads we were used to so far in South Africa. Worry not, this is the correct way to go especially if you are a birder – you will not regret it.
Scarry to go on such roads to nowhere!
The dirt road connects to R319 just before Struisbaai, a town before L’Agulhas. We were short of time and missed it, but if you visit this town don’t forget to say ‘Hey howzzit’ to Pierre at the harbor for us! The towns of L’Agulhas and Stuisbaai are dotted with white houses and hotels giving a very beach town vibe. They are not very crowded and preserve their old worldly charm. Cape Agulhas is the gem supreme of this road trip. It is outside the usual tourist circuit and there is no ‘easy’ way to get here and is usually only visited by locals or some very dedicated travelers.
Town of L’Agulhas, lighthouse in the distance.
Cape Agulhas is the geographical southernmost point of the continent of Africa. Yes, read it again if you need to _ it’s not Cape of Good Hope. To tell you the truth, its not even a fraction of how dramatic Cape of Good Hope is – yet, it is one of the most unique places to visit.
Dirt road to the parking to see the Southern most tip of Africa.
This unassuming, non-touristy, super windy, rocky beachfront is where the cold Atlantic Ocean (Benguela current) meets the warm Indian Ocean (Agulhas current). This mixing and merging makes it one of the best places to go fishing, but the worst place to be on a boat/ship – as there are very frequent rogue waves and the ocean is quiet shallow and rocky. Irony huh? It’s a graveyard to approx. 130 ships in the past.
White breasted cormorants in a dramatic setting.
Cape Agulhas is also called Cape of Needles because it’s here where the compass needle shows true north aligned with magnetic north. Some say the name was given due to spikey rocks and shallow waters where reefs would be damaging. I personally think the name was given due to cold winds which were poking me like needles through my jacket!!!
Caught flying – Red billed Oyster Catchers, always a pleasure to photograph.
R319 goes straight into the Cape. Entry to Cape Agulhas is marked by it’s operational lighthouse, standing strong, doing its best to guide the ships away from the shallow and treacherous coastline. Visitors can walk up the lighthouse and also visit the very best museum at it’s base. Unfortunately, we reached here very late compared to what was planned and could not go up to the lighthouse.
Ha, we are here!
Further down the road was the parking lot (parking is free, a customary tip to the caretaker is advised) from where the boarded walkway starts directing the way to the ‘Southernmost tip of Africa’. Both of us were overwhelmed by the feeling of achievement… or was it the overpowering cold wind?? Ah well, we’ll never know. We just know that we were extremely happy to be here…and extremely lucky.
Boardwalk over the coastal ecosystem.
The boarded walkway extends further into the Agulhas National Park over the Fynbos bushes and other unique coastal plants thriving in this area. It goes around multiple sights and spots like the a cool looking map of Africa. It has multiple viewpoints and benches to enjoy a leisure time. R319 goes all along this boarded walkway till the official entrance of the park.
Map of Africa, markings to show the alignment of the southern most point.
Overlooking at the vast ocean, it’s all left to the imagination to think about all the party of colours and marine biodiversity thriving underwater due to mixing of the two currents. Oh, and then a tiny thought – we were a bit closer to Antarctica and there is nothing stopping us to touch it, all we need is super human strength and maybe gills or wings😊 .
Markings to show the alignment of the southern most point.
On our way out, we stuck to R319 till we joined back onto N2. On the day of our travel it was extremely clouded and a small storm was predicted. We were still 3hours away from our accommodation for the night and we didn’t want to be on the road when it got too dark, so we were in a bit of a hurry. Sun was setting and dark clouds were rolling in but we had our very best sightings on this road.
Sun was setting and dark clouds were rolling in. Pretty rare sight. Enthusiastic Ostrich males doing the courtship dance to woo the by standing female in one of the huge Ostrich farms on the way.
The vast farms on either sides were such an unusual sight for us Indians. We do have fields and farms here in abundance but they are medium to small patches with lot of human activity going around. These were sprawling across multiple hills. ‘Huge’ is an understatement. No humans in sight, only these big agriculture related vehicles for harvesting and irrigating etc…
Huge farms over the rolling hills.
Afterthoughts and ranting.
The regional roads in South Africa have pretty high speed limits (at least compared to India) even if it is going across a national park or farmland where wildlife roams freely. The traffic is scarce but people drive on extremely high speeds. This made it very difficult to do birdwatching specially because we were also short of time and could not afford to take multiple stops.
Joint family of Guinieafowl crossing the road in a frenzy.
On high speed, by the time we realized that we have spotted a bird or an animal, we were already a mile or so ahead and by the time we took a U-turn it would be gone! For instance, we could not believe our luck when we spotted a Caracal slyly walking in one of the harvested fields, but by the time we turned back, it had disappeared behind long grass! Such a rare sighting, but could not photograph it 😦 . Fences with loose barbwire run along most farmlands. The fixing poles seemed to be the favorite perching spot for birds of preys and other grassland birds.
A pair of Springbok grazing at a distance – National animal of South Africa
The biggest regret from this part of our vacation was not planning to stay in L’Agulhas or surrounding towns for a night or two. That would have enabled us to explore this region better. On this day we had to travel a long way to Wilderness, which meant we could not stop anywhere for long and had to set our priorities. We even ended up skipping lunch even though we crossed such cool looking restaurants in L’Agulhas.
……As if universe heard us and sent us a sign.
By the time we reached N2 (just before Bontebok National Park), we promised ourselves to come back and stay here at least for a couple of days and to loiter around on these regional roads and stop at every bird and animal.
Blue Crane family – National bird of South Africa
This part of South Africa has an abundance of birdlife and excellent places to explore which certainly should not be missed. Cape Agulhas certainly left us wanting for more. This place deserves a lot of time to explore its bountiful landscape and biodiversity.
Last view of Atlantic Ocean before we entered Indian Ocean coast.
To read more about the Cape Agulhas, South Africa – Check these informative website :
https://www.sanparks.org/parks/agulhas
https://opengeology.org/historicalgeology/case-studies/the-mixed-up-quartzites-of-cape-agulhas/