Most people seem to think that Cape Point is the southernmost point of Africa and whilst it is pretty much down south, the true southernmost point is about 2 hours drive and 170km from Cape Town at a place called Agulhas. This is the place where the Indian and Atlantic ocean meet and the true most southern point of our continent.
The waters are treacherous with many ships recorded wrecked over the many years. The conflicting currents of water of different densities and the west
winds blowing against the Agulhas Current, can create extremely
hazardous wave conditions; these are further exacerbated by the shallow
waters of the Agulhas Bank, a broad, shallow part of the continental shelf which juts 250 kilometres south from the cape, after which it falls steeply away to the abyssal plain.
The lighthouse was built in 1848 to warn the passing ships of the dangers.
The Meisho Maru 38, ran aground between Suiderstrand and Cape
L'Agulhas on 16 November 1982. The ship had 240 tons of frozen tuna
aboard. During a storm on 31 August 2008 the ship was turned around in
heavy seas.
Beautiful sunsets can be experienced from this area.
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