I was blessed that it was sunny today (access to the top of Table Mountain may be stopped should there be mist, low clouds, and even strong wind that could affect the cable car’s operation). I drove to the cable car station at the lower part of Table Mountain and bought a return trip cable car ticket at R180. The Swiss-built cable car quickly brought me to the top of Table Mountain. 
Table Mountain was formed under the sea about 600 million years ago. Glaciers carved it flat, then the mountain gradually rose, thrust up by tectonic forces. The mountain was originally an island, until the sea finally receded.
The view from the top of Table Mountain was really spectacular. While on top, I could see Lion’s Head, Twelve Apostles, Signal Hill, the abalone-shaped Green Point Stadium, and Cape Town.
Lion's Head
After Table Mountain, I did some shopping at Canal Walk. This beautifully decorated mall boasts about 500 shops – indeed a shopper’s paradise. I found the African drums that I was looking for.
At night, I took a stroll at the V&A Mall and Victoria’s Wharf before soaking in the OktoberFest mood at Paulaner Brauhaus. I had my favourite Crispy Pork Knuckle and OktoberFest brew and Dunkel. It was a lovely evening at the OktoberFest!
Hermanus was originally named Hermanuspietersfontein, after an itinerant teacher from the 1830s who grazed his sheep near a freshwater spring in what is now Westcliff. Fishermen from Hawston started to settle here more than 150 years ago, but the town gradually became known as a holiday resort and grew into the main coastal centre of Overberg. It now has a vibrant tour industry, boasts a large number of art galleries and restaurants, and is, amongst others, home to an annual Whale Festival in September. From about June to November, the area around the Old Harbour and Gearing’s Point offers excellent opportunities for watching whales, which often come to within metres of the rocks. The Cliff Path, which stretches more than 10km from the New Harbour to the mouth of the Klein River, affords another way of watching whales, as well as enjoying the fynbos, rocky cliffs and white beaches along the way. 
Before sunset, I left Hermanus and headed straight for Cape Town. OktoberFest was on at Paulaner Brauhaus. I bought the Paulaner’s OktoberFest beer mug with “Cape Town” printed on it (since I could not get Hard Rock Café Cape Town’s souvenir anymore because it had closed down).
Instead, I went to the top of the Cave. This fynbos-covered rocks stood about 20 metres above the choppy ocean. I was enjoying the cool morning air when I spotted a Southern Right Whale about 30m from the cliff. And then another, and another … I counted 6 Southern Right Whales bopping in and out of the water. There are two kinds of Right Whale – the Northern Right in the northern hemisphere and the Southern Right Whale in the southern hemisphere. I was an amazing encounter.
To mark the successful meeting we had, a wonderful dinner at Die Herberg. And here was cooking our beef and chicken on the braai.
Till we meet again ... Ayoba!
The southernmost tip of Africa was first called Cabo das Agulhas (“Cape of Needle”) in 1502 by Portuguese seafarers, after it had previously been named Ponta de Sint Brandao by Barttholomeu Dias, who first rounded the tip of Africa in January 1488, in honour of the patron saint of that day. The excepted explanation of the reference to needles is that, at the time, the magnetic needles of a compass showed no deviation from true north (simply a chance of occurrence, as magnetic divergence varies greatly across the globe and changes over time – the divergence at Agulhas is now about 24.5 degrees west).
The stretch of coastline around Agulhas became notorious amongst seafarers as a graveyard of ships. Hidden reefs, sandy shallows and jagged rocks all awaited the unwary mariner who ventured too close to the shore or was driven there by the huge swells and strong gales. 
The first of over a hundred shipwrecks recorded was that of the Zoetendal in 1673; the survivors reached Cape Town over land, and on the way named a freshwater lake near Struisbaai Zoentendals Vlei.
In the late 1830s, letters appeared in Cape Town newspaper calling for a lighthouse to be erected at Cape Agulhas. Michiel van Breda donated land while COL Charles Michell designed the lighthouse. His design was homage to the lighthouse that stood on the island of Pharos at Alexandria in Egypt.
On 8 January 1848, Cape Agulhas Lighthouse was put into operation with its optical apparatus from Le Paute in Paris powering 4,500-candlepower light. Started off with a four-wick Argand burner and tail fats from local fat-tailed sheep to the electrified one in 1936, the lighthouse did not miss a blink in the first hundred years. I went to the top of the lighthouse. The view was wonderful. 
From the lighthouse, I walked to the southernmost tip of Africa. Looking back from there, the Cape Agulhas Lighthouse looked even more beautiful.
The southernmost tip of the African continent was determined by Chief Directorate: Surveys and Mapping in June 1983, about 1km west of the lighthouse: 34° 49’ 58.74” South and 20° 00’ 02.12” East. 
At the time, the confusion about where the two oceans met was also cleared up: the Hydrographic Office stated that the internationally accepted “boundary” between Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean was 20° 00’ longitude, which is only about 1,200 metres west of Cape Agulhas – clearly not at Cape Point, as it is often claimed.<--- Indian Ocean meets Atlantic Ocean --->
Once again, Hyundai Tucson proved to be a wonderful 2x4 wheel-drive SUV, even on sandy beaches.
Reaching the southernmost tip of Africa, Cape Agulhas, was one of my two wishes for this trip to South Africa. The other wish was to go the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town. Let's hope my dream would come true this weekend.
