Cape Town Mission Field 

27 January 2018
Day 49
Saturday

We had a lovely breakfast overlooking the bay then went to the Hermanus Elders flat for an inspection. We were very surprised to see how well kept the flat has been taken care of. Elder Gibbons even took it upon himself to caulk around the kitchen sink. The long shelf like milk cartons were spaced evenly above the cupboard. Elder Shai will be transferred this week back to Madagascar since that area has been re-opened following an outbreak of bubonic plague that has cleared.

We then headed for Cape Agulhas, the southermost point in Africa, located along the 20 degree longitude line separating the Indian Ocean from the Atlantic Ocean. Along the way we saw Baboons and Ostrich's. There were large expanses of rolling hills that had been farmed and harvested and now were barren. We crossed one sign directing towards some place that was very familiar to us. So we stopped and took a picture.

We stopped for lunch at the Flame Grill in Bredasdorp. Elder Courtright had Oxtail stew with mushrooms and potatoes on rice with sliced beets and baked sweet potatoes. Yum! Sister Courtright had the Chicken cordon Bleu, which was so huge it filled us both for lunch the next day too. The waitress pointed us to the Shipwreck museum in town, next to the large white church on the hill. It was full of ship wreck artifacts. One bow figurehead was found by a light house keeper and was left for care by the new light house keeper when he was transferred. Years later it ended up at the museum but its origin is unknown. There was a replica at the lighthouse which indicated she came from the Marie Elise, 1897. Eerie!

Here we are at the end of the continent. The portuguese for L'agulhas is "needles" which some say is from the rocky coastline. Others say it is because the compass needle points directly north from this location with no magnetic deviation.

Climbing the stairs up the lighthouse was a challenge. We met a docent, Maureen, who told us a lot about the area and history. She suggested we stop at Coffee on the Rocks in De Kelder on our way back to Hermanus to catch the sunset across Walker Bay. We drove through many small towns and took a dirt road out of Sansbaai for about 48 kilometers. We saw some large Blue Heron in a vacant field. Once in De Kelder we found that the place closes at 5:00 PM. So we asked a couple walking along the street and they directed us back up the street to their friends house who were locals and could tell us where to find a good place to eat. Dave invited us into his house, which had a thatched roof and overlooked the bay. They offered us some wine, we accepted water. They introduced us to their other friends then called up the street to make reservations for us at a house up the street that serves dinner meals out of their home. It was called "Kloeks @ Home". We had a wonderful meal in a very nice covered, lighted patio. We then headed back to Hermanus.