Cape Town is known for her stormy personality, and many a boat and ship has found its final resting places in the depth of her oceans.
In the 1900s the Cape was home to a collection of lighthouses that lit the way for sailors and steered them clear of the coastlines’ jagged rocks. Now only a few remain, having survived the wild weather over the years, and are monuments of history and beauty, not out of place in a gorgeous Cape Town seascape. If you have some time to visit these beautiful buildings, here are a few to scratch off your list:
1. Roman Rock Lighthouse, Simon’s Town
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Roman Rock Lighthouse is a challenging visit; it is one of the few lighthouses in the world that are located on a rock in the middle of the ocean.
The construction of this lone marvel began some 150 years ago, and its tower erection took four years alone, as the fierce wind and harsh seas allowed only 96 working days during the period between 1861 and 1865.
2. Cape Point Lighthouse
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Just as the “Cape of Storms” was respected by sailors who came across its path, so was the “Point”, which was used as a navigational marker by day and feared as a place of hellish storms by night. In 1859, the first lighthouse at Cape Point was completed, and it stands at 238 metres above sea-level on the highest section of the Point’s peak. Today, this lighthouse is used as the central monitoring point for all the lighthouses on the coast of South Africa.
3. Milnerton Lighthouse
A classic 21 metre-high lighthouse painted white with a little red roof lies in wait in Milnerton.
This towering structure was completed in 1960 and is located on one of the coastlines known to have wrecked the largest number of ships in the country, with more than 150 ships known to have sunk in the waters along this lighthouse’s shore.
4. Slangkop Lighthouse, Kommetjie
Probably one of the Cape’s most frequently photographed lighthouses is the Slangkop.
Commissioned in 1919 by the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, this lighthouse only became fully automated in 1979.
Now manned by a senior Light Keeper, this beauty is open to visitors during the week from 10am to 3pm, with an half hour break between 12pm and 12.30pm. It is closed to the public on weekends.
5. Green Point Lighthouse
This iconic red and white-striped structure is South Africa’s oldest operational lighthouse. First lit in 1824, this vintage tower is often confused as being the Mouille Point lighthouse that was in fact dismantled in the 1920s. You can visit Green Point Lighthouse, a national heritage site, for a small fee.
Pictures: Instagram/Janikalheit
