Shipwreck Trail

Not for nothing is the Cape Peninsula known as the Cape of Storms - the coastline is literally littered with the remains of hundreds of vessels from ancient to modern times. The Shipwreck Trail at Cape Point takes you from the car park at Olifantsbos down the coast to the Thomas T Tucker and the Nolloth. The internet gives ample coverage to these wrecks and they make for an interesting read.
Yesterday we had good rains over the Peninsula, and it was a perfect day for a beach walk - firm sand underfoot, massive waves rearing and crashing on the right and a cool westerly coming in from the sea to make hiking a pleasure.
The recent fire nearby seems to have dispersed the usual small herds of bontebok that frequent Olifantsbos, and no ostriches were seen, although we followed the fresh tracks of one for quite a while. The usual oystercatchers, heron and cormorants posed for photos along the way, but otherwise the sparse vegetation offered no grazing for wildlife. One exciting find was an argonaut or paper nautilus, the egg sac of a pelagic octopus. It was almost perfect and I remember as a child going down to Fish Hoek beach at dawn in May to see if any had washed up (this is the time of year they are found), before the raiding gulls had a chance to peck at the shell and destroy its delicate perfection. A very special find, particularly in the rough surf conditions.
The cottage on the Hoerikwagga Trail is tucked away in the shadow of an outcrop (rather cold in winter!) and looks over the beach approaching the Thomas T Tucker remains - a very desirable stay for those who really want to be isolated on the far southwestern tip of Africa. We trudged on, passing a massive whale vertebra lodged high up on the beach - too heavy to carry back for a garden feature - and poked around the bits and pieces of wreck that are sometimes hidden and sometimes exposed, depending on how the sand has been blown in the prevailing winds. The only large boulder on the beach provided welcome shelter for those who didn't like the breeze, and we tucked into our coffee and snacks to give us energy for the hill climb to come.
Around the corner was the wreck of the Nolloth, right on the shoreline. This fairly recent shipwreck (1965) caused a bit of a stir as its main cargo was liquor and customs officials rushed to the site to salvage it before the locals could have a party, to their great disappointment.
From there, we climbed quite steeply up to the ridge through low fynbos, affording us spectacular views in all directions. It was surprising to see what a distance we had covered with very little effort. The resident trio of bontebok (one with a horn missing) were slightly nervous and took off at an easy lope, disappearing over the rocky landscape, and an easy hour's walk took us back to the cars via a gully, where last night's rain had run down the path in a rivulet that showed a fair amount of erosion, taking the path of least resistance in its rush to the sea. Altogether a very pleasant way to round off the perfect morning.