Ostriches on the beach

I've just returned from an intense week in Johannesburg. While much of my time was taken with business I did make another weekend dash down to Cape Town. It's currently the height of Summer in South Africa, making for a completely different experience to that of my first visit last winter.

I revived several favourite memories while finding time to add a few more. Old memories included another day trip up Table Mountain (this time without a cloud in the sky) and another encounter with ostriches on the beach at the Cape of Good Hope. I was astonished to find these birds in almost the same location as last time.

Watching them forge in the wind-swept bushes, metres from the rolling Atlantic surf, was undoubtedly as magical as last time. A new memory was made when they kindly wandered across the road, halting traffic and bringing faces of joy to every driver. Baywatch was never this riveting.

I also added a couple of lighthouse encounters to my travel diary. The first was the bold white, cast-iron tower at Kommetjie. This structure was erected in 1914 and sits on a narrow ribbon of land between imposing cliffs and a white-capped ocean. There's something undeniably majestic about this lighthouse and its forlorn location, two-thirds of the way down the Cape Peninsular. Getting to the lighthouse is half the fun.

The best route is along Chapman´s Peak Drive from Hout Bay. This narrow, winding road was literally hewn from a near vertical cliff face between 1915 and 1922. In one place the 10km long scenic road is built into a deep groove blasted from solid rock. You can see this sight in the photo below.

Along its length heavy-duty steel nets protect drivers from falling rocks. The threat is real. Since 1987 there have been five deaths from rockfalls on this route. The road was even closed for several years in 1999 after a driver was killed by an unusually large rockfall.

The second lighthouse encounter was Dias Point Lighthouse located at the tip of Cape Point. On Sunday a narrow track out to a nearby observation post was open to the public. Last winter this access had been blocked off. The 15 minute walk was well worth the effort. It's impossible to describe the sensation of standing on this narrow point of land as the wind roars in from the Southern Ocean. This really was the end of the world.

This lighthouse is the second of two at the cape. The tragic loss of the Lusitania in 1911 forced authorities to approve its construction. The original lighthouse, located at the highest point on the cape (246 metres above sea level), was often covered by fog, thus diminishing its effectiveness. I can't recall any other location with a twin set of towers.

My jet lag has finally caught up with me this evening. More Cape Town adventuress tomorrow.