Alguhas National Park

Right where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic, you’ll find a land full of flowers and an ocean full of…  (spooky music in the background) shipwrecks! This is Agulhas National Park, located on the southernmost Tip of Africa. This remarkable park lies 200 kilometres southeast of Cape Town and encompasses a protected area of over 200 square kilometres. Here, terrestrial mammals are easily traded for fascinating sea creatures. Whales, dolphins, porpoises, and even Cape fur seals can all be spotted. It’s like a marine mammal party, and everyone’s invited!

Wildflower galore

The Agulhas National Park is of international significance due to its rich plant biodiversity, equalling those of tropical rainforests. It holds approximately 2000 species of indigenous plants. Consequently, this park is an essential component of the Cape Floral Kingdom, the smallest and richest of the world’s six plant kingdoms.
Every year after winter, the park bursts into colour as its incredible wildflowers come to life. The official flower season in the Cape is from 1 August until 30 September. But even if you visit the Cape anywhere near springtime, you can enjoy a mass flower display. Few other places in the world will show you whale tails and wildflower blankets during your hike!

The wetlands attract over 60 water bird species (which boils down to over 21,000 migrant and resident wetland birds annually) and the coastline supports a rich marine and intertidal life. To top it off, in spring and early summer, southern right whales frequent the waters of the Agulhas coast. True, you might not do a regular safari game drive here, but Alguhas easily lets you forget about those. Your beach walk has never been so impressive!

Fascinating history

Besides its ecological importance, the Agulhas area has a fascinating history, as the coastline is home to numerous shipwrecks of the early explorers who braved the wild seas off the southern tip of Africa. The Japanese Meisho Maru fishing vessel, for instance, could not have picked a more beautiful place along South Africa’s coastline to run aground. But although it provides you with the most fascinating pictures (as it sticks out of the water!), it’s strongly discouraged to swim up to the shipwreck due to strong undercurrents.

One more must-see: The historical Cape Agulhas Lighthouse, which has been in operation since 1845 and was built to aid the early explorers on their passage! Seventy-one steps lead up to the top of the second oldest working lighthouse in southern Africa, which also holds a unique lighthouse museum. Definitely worth a visit!

Ghost Corner and other wines

If the brave climb to the top of the lighthouse has made you somewhat thirsty, the Agulhas National Park has more good news for you! The official wine route of Cape Agulhas, the Agulhas Wine Triangle, is made up of a dozen pioneering wine producers, spread over 100 kilometres from west to east. As the average summer temperatures in the area stay around 20 ℃, this is literally (!) the coolest wine-producing region in South Africa. Their members, mostly located in and around Elim (where you’ll also find the Agulhas Heritage Museum), have quirky names (such as Black Oystercatcher Wines, Ghost Corner, Land’s End, Lost Boy, Strandveld Vineyards…) and claim to make wine for explorers. Cheers to that!

Activities in Agulhas National Park

• Fynbos hikes
• Whale watching
• Cape Agulhas Wine Route – the southernmost wine route of South Africa!
• Lighthouse Museum (L’Agulhas), Elim Heritage Centre (Elim)
• Swimming in Struisbaai
• Rock and deep sea fishing (fishing permits can be purchased from the Struisbaai Post Office)

How to get there

It can be accessed via the N2 highway, which runs from Cape Town along the east coast via the Garden Route to Gqeberha (previously Port Elizabeth), turning off at Caledon or Swellendam and passing through Bredasdorp to get to Cape Agulhas. It’s just under 3 hours by car from Cape Town (the nearest international airport) and 3,5 hours from George (the nearest domestic airport).

The nearest towns are L’Agulhas (obviously) and the fishing village of Struisbaai (6km).

Climate

Agulhas National Park enjoys a gorgeous Mediterranean climate with comfortable humidity that makes summer stays (December to March) quite pleasant and warm, while the winter (June to September) brings (lots of) refreshing rain. The climate is moderate, with summer sea temperatures reaching a delightful 21 ºC, and dipping to a somewhat chilly 14 ºC in winter. 

Best time to visit Agulhas National Park

It depends. If you are coming to watch whales, rather stick to the whale season. The southern right whales come to the bays to breed from August to November. If you want to see the flowers of the Cape Floral Kingdom, early August through to the end of September (and sometimes longer depending on the amount of rainfall each year) is your best time, as carpets upon carpets of colourful wildflowers typically come to life when winter ends.