Today we spent time relaxing by the Indian Ocean. The day started cheerfully — we studied the basics of eagle hunting, visited the neighbouring town of Muscle Bay, took a stroll, and climbed a local hill. And finally, we washed our cars, which had become quite dirty.
On the next day of our expedition, we continued moving west along the ocean coast and arrived in Arnistinon. It’s not even a town, but a small village with a population of only 1,500 people. In two days, we have travelled 421 km.
The following day marks the final day of our journey through Africa, which we will spend in Cape Town. We visited the southernmost point of Africa — Cape Agulhas. Due to a magnetic anomaly observed nearby, the compass needle here points strictly north. In the late 19th century, the magnetic declination in this region was westward and measured 30°.
Cape Agulhas rises to 140 meters and is located 155 km southeast of Cape of Good Hope, forming the tip of a spit that extends from the Cape. It concludes with a lighthouse situated at latitude 34° 51’ south and longitude 20° 00’ east. The distance from Cape Agulhas to Antarctica is approximately 4,200 km.
South of Cape Agulhas, a sandy shoal stretches for 840 km along the coast from Cape of Good Hope to Algoa Bay. This underwater terrace poses a danger to mariners due to its shallow depth and strong currents flowing from the Indian Ocean into the Atlantic. This place, where two oceans meet, creates notorious breakers responsible for frequent shipwrecks.