Cape Columbine Lighthouse

Cape Columbine was commissioned in 1936, the last manned lighthouse constructed in South Africa, and it stands on Castle Rock among granite boulders on a coast that is often the first land sighted by ships coming round from Europe. The fifteen-metre tower, designed by H. C. Cooper, puts the light some eighty metres above the sea, and it was switched on at sunset on 1 October 1936; the cape is named after the ship Columbine, wrecked here in 1829. Its light is powerful - the beam is quoted as one of the strongest on this coast, visible some fifty kilometres out. Around it, Columbine Nature Reserve covers a stretch of rocky shore and coastal fynbos with the boulder-strewn Tietiesbaai campsite, tidal pools, and in spring a flowering of coastal annuals. The village of Paternoster nearby is whitewashed fishing cottages and crayfish restaurants and has become a weekend destination. The wind here is constant and the water very cold; the appeal is the granite, the light and the emptiness rather than swimming.

The main sights

• The 1936 light - the last manned lighthouse built in the country.
• The granite shore - boulder coast at Tietiesbaai with tidal pools between them.
• The beam - one of the strongest on the coast, visible far out to sea.
• The spring flowers - coastal annuals through the reserve in season.

When to go

August to October for flowers; all year for the coast. Two hours.

Things to know

Wind is relentless on this shore. The water is cold Atlantic and swimming is brief. Camping at Tietiesbaai is exposed and basic. The lighthouse interior is not always open to visitors - check before driving out.

Nearby

Paternoster is minutes away; the West Coast National Park is south.

Key facts