Cape Agulhas

Cape Agulhas, not Cape Point, is the southernmost point of Africa, and it is also the official dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian oceans - a boundary agreed by convention rather than visible in the water, which disappoints people expecting the two-colour photograph that tour operators sometimes imply. It lies about 170 kilometres south-east of Cape Town, and the Portuguese name, Cape of Needles, is usually explained by the compass needle pointing to true north here around 1500. A stone marker and a plaque sit at the tip, reached by a short boardwalk over rock and low scrub. The lighthouse in the village, built in 1848 and modelled on the Pharos of Alexandria, is the second oldest working lighthouse in the country and houses a small museum you can climb. The coast is a graveyard for ships - the Agulhas bank is shallow, the currents converge, and wrecks including the Meisho Maru lie visible on the shore. It is flat, windy and low-key: the significance is geographic, not scenic.

What to look for

• The southern tip - the real southernmost point of Africa, not Cape Point.
• The ocean boundary - the agreed Atlantic-Indian line, invisible in the water itself.
• The 1848 lighthouse - the second oldest working light in the country, climbable.
• The wrecks - ships including the Meisho Maru on a coast known for them.

When to go

All year; autumn has the calmest weather. Two hours.

Things to know

There is no visible line where the oceans meet - the photograph people expect does not exist. The landscape is flat and often very windy. The marker itself is modest. Cape Point gets the crowds and the drama; Agulhas gets the fact.

Nearby

Struisbaai harbour is next door; De Hoop reserve is up the coast.

Key facts