Today is “walkies” day! We started day 13 of our Walk 4 SOS Huskies journey from Struisbaai main beach.
Full low tide was at 11am, so walking on the compact sand closer to the surf edge made it easy going.
After the sandy part, the Struisbaai coastline becomes pebble beach that’s kinda hard to walk on but the locals here have built a long boardwalk to makes it easier for the Fossil.
After about five (or was it seven) kilometres we saw the road sign for L’Agulhas (not that we could get lost walking along the beach-line but it was nice to know where we were – seeing as the Fossil doesn’t have a GPS).
There’s always interesting smells along these beach walks – like the pic above of ancient sea shells in a sand bank…
… and some wiggly critters on a bush (the Fossil says they’re caterpillars on a mating ritual)…
… all of this walking and sniffing is thirsty work. Fortunately, the Fossil carries water and a bowl for me…
… and he didn’t forget about his own thirst (or rather, caffein addiction) when we made a brief “coffee and chat” stop to visit Kathy, the owner of Summer Place B&B in L’Agulhas.
Eventually, we came to the Cape Agulhas Lighthouse. “This is the second-oldest still operating lighthouse in South Africa, and the third lighthouse to be built, after Green Point in Cape Town,” said the Fossil. Not that I was listening; I’d found a tasty sand-shark egg casing and was chewing contentedly while he stared in awe at this well-known landmark for seafarers.
Well, he didn’t let me finish my shark egg snack – said that there may be parasites still in there that could make me sick, so we had a tug-of-war and he finally got it out of my jaws and threw it away.
After more walking along trails and pathways we came to a signpost declaring that we are now at the Southernmost Point of Africa. Can’t say that I noticed any difference – the coastline still looked, and smelled, the same to me! Humans really are weird!
A bit further along a dirt road we came to another boardwalk – only this time the sign had that awful “No Dogs Allowed” symbol. So what? Like I’m going to chew up their boardwalk? Is the Agulhas National Park exclusively for humans? ‘Cause if it is, then what all the wild critters doing there? Come to think of it, even if I was a wild Wolf like my distant Siberian ancestors, SANParks would probably stick a symbol on there indicating “No Wolves Allowed!”.
By now, the Fossil was “gatvol” of all these “no this, no that” signs, so he led me to the landmark with a plaque that reads; “You are now at the southern-most (yes, it’s actually hyphenated) tip of the African continent”. Really? They already had a sign saying that (but not hyphenated). Anyway, the Fossil kept trying to pull me across to stand in the ‘Indian Ocean’ side ’cause that’s where he was born – in Durban. But I prefer the cooler Atlantic Ocean side!
Then, we walked across to another monument – this time with a big sculptured map of Africa. “The sculptor has no sense of perspective,” said the Fossil. “Table Mountain is way off from The City and smaller than the other mountain ranges”. It’s pretty cool though, especially seeing the rain puddles that pool in the sculpture depressions – like huge inland lakes.
Walking on, we came across a shipwreck. “That’s the Meisho Maru – a Japanese fishing vessel that ran aground during a storm in 1982,” commented the all-knowing Fossil.
From there, the Fossil observed the ‘No Dogs Allowed’ signs and veered off to walk me along to dirt road leading to Suiderstrand (Southern Beach).
That stretch is about 2-3km and the stones were making my paws sore, so we tried to keep to the softer sandy verge of the road.
Especially when cars came past and we got covered in dust. Fortunately, the wind had picked up to about 35 knots by then and blew the dust away quickly.
Finally, we reached our end-point at Suiderstrand on the main beach – that’s the pebble beach where I’m standing, and panting, in the pic below. Then, the Fossil called Adre, a friend of Erin’s, who gave us a ride back to the backpackers in Struisbaai.
Tonight, Erin and Malan Conradie, the owners of Cape Agulhas Backpackers are hosting us again (lucky Fossil – he doesn’t have to pack our gear and move again!).
That’s all for now Husky loving folks! Tomorrow we’re driving the Mahindra PIKUP to Gansbaai (or Pearly Beach, or De Kelders, or anywhere that a pet-friendly accommodation provider is willing to host us overnight).
Wanna talk to us? Wanna host us? WhatsApp the tall fossil hanging onto my leash. Here’s Des’s number: +27 (0)82 374 7260. We’d love to hear from you!
JAXX
PS. That extra X on the end of my name is supposed to be a kiss (yeah, I know it’s soppy).
BTW: if you happen to be anywhere along our walking route between Plettenberg Bay and Cape Town during late July to mid-August 2021, look out for us. We’ll be walking along the beach (or not), or on a hiking trail (unlikely), or along the side of a town road (most likely) – but definitely not along the N2 motorway! Come over to say “Howzit Husky Boy!” (and ” Hello Fossil Man” if you want).
