Post Office Tree

In 1501 the Portuguese captain Pedro de Ataíde, sheltering here after losing much of his fleet in a storm, left an account of the disaster in an old shoe hung in a milkwood tree beside a spring at this bay. It was found by João da Nova, the captain it was addressed to, and the tree became a recognised message drop on the sea route - the first postal system in southern Africa, in effect. The milkwood standing here is identified as that tree and is a national monument; milkwoods are slow-growing and long-lived, so the identification is plausible without being provable. A boot-shaped postbox stands beneath it and letters posted there are franked with a special mark. The tree is inside the Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex, which also holds a full-size replica of the caravel Dias sailed in 1488, built in Portugal and sailed to Mossel Bay in 1988.

History

In 1501 Pêro de Ataíde, sheltering in Mossel Bay after losing much of his fleet in a storm, hung an account of the disaster in an old shoe from this milkwood near the spring Bartolomeu Dias had used; João da Nova found it, and the tree served as a kind of post office for decades. A boot-shaped post box now stands beneath it (Wikipedia, Post Office Tree).

What's there

• The 1501 message drop - the tree where a letter was left for a passing captain.
• The boot postbox - a working postbox with its own franking mark beneath the tree.
• The caravel replica - a full-size Dias ship sailed from Portugal in 1988.
• The monument status - a milkwood old enough to make the identification credible.

When to go

All year. One hour, more for the museum complex around it.

Practical notes

It is a tree, and the story does the work - visitors expecting a monument are underwhelmed. The identification is traditional rather than proven. The museum complex charges entry and the tree is inside it.

Nearby

Mossel Bay's beaches are close; the Garden Route runs east.

Key facts