Today I want to introduce you to the more intimate side of the wild and rocky shoreline that has become second home to me. From a distance you might be excused for thinking that this is a rather unfriendly looking stretch of coastline because it appears to be extremely rugged and raw. However, if you go deeper or look up close, you will notice in and among those rocks and boulders that there lies a whole miniature world of life and color to explore.
I’m speaking, of course, about the remote and rugged shoreline of the southernmost coast of Africa. Yes it is remote and distant, compared to the mainstream flow of travelers and adventurers in the northern hemisphere. However, it is also one of those hidden gems on the planet, known to only a few and thus still really pure, still and quiet, compared to the popular holiday resorts we know so well.
This particular stretch of shoreline is in perhaps most idyllic part of the south coast of Africa, which I like to call the “sweet spot”. Don’t get me wrong – it’s still very salty, but with no people around and nothing but the elements of wind, water, earth and sunshine, life thrives and remains undisturbed to blossom or thrive in all its sweetness.
The tide is low today so more rock is exposed that usual at the shoreline and so we can see the barnacles encrusting the rounded and smoothed rocks that hold back the sea. Any higher above the actual water mark and all you see are smooth boulders with no barnacles at all. They are sun bleached and pale in comparison. But just under the surface of the water line – now visible in the extra low tide – we can see a plethora of life and color to inspire the artist in you.
Not only that but if you were starving from lack of food or stranded on these rocky shores like some washed up shipwreck survivor, then you could easily scavenge for sea urchins or shell muscles to eat. I’m vegetarian myself but if it came to my survival, I would be able to keep death away by scrounging for seafood in these very rock pools at any time of the year.
I have sometimes seen the large seagulls grab a sea shell and fly up a few feet to drop it onto the ground below. They will this repeatedly in an attempt to break some shell open to eat the contents. It’s quite a show to watch them do it ten times or more, using gravity and the hard surface of the earth to crack open their meal from a shell. These living entities are so clever.
I have also seen the local seals just off shore, lying in the water on their backs with a shell of some sort that they are dining on. They appear to be the most playful of creatures in this area. And so life really thrives among what initially looks rather bare and rugged from a distance. You just need to still the mind by sitting quietly for a while and observing the space around you. Then it all starts to reveal itself.
We are so used to staring at screens all day that we need to make an effort to regain our skill of sitting outdoors and observing the beauty of nature hiding in plain sight. These remote and rocky stretches of coastline on the furthest southern shores of Africa are really just the right place to get away from it all and back to nature. Perhaps that’s why they call this region the “Garden Route”. It’s like on big garden of Eden where nature resides in its purest and most undisturbed form.
If you look closely at these rock pools, you can see the most awesome colors popping out of the rocks and particularly from just under the surface of the water. Shades of purple – from indigo to violet – appear to simultaneously brighten up and also cool down the landscape, adding subtle shades and nuances to the otherwise bright blue and turquoise palette. Add to that the ochre, saffron and gold rocks, and you have a masterpiece sketched by mother nature for all to see. Of course, I’m usually the only human observer of all this splendor, but it’s here for any adventurer or traveler who likes to explore the more remote and less traveled parts of the planet.
See if you can spot the tire in this photo
One rare anomaly on my recent meanderings was this massive industrial sized black rubber truck tire that lies on the shoreline like a salvaged mammoth of rubber rubbish. I can’t work out if it washed up from the sea or rolled from down from the high cliffs above. Either option seems implausible so I’m still mystified because the thing is massive and would need at least two or three people to roll it all the way to the cliff edge and over. Yet that seems to be the most likely scenario since I doubt it would have washed up from the ocean. It’s just too big.
But then I will probably never know and this massive tire will continue to just sit here for years more to come. No one will want to move it anywhere and it will take several people to do that, plus perhaps massive long ropes if you want to haul it up 100 meters of steep rocky cliff. So among all the pristine beauty of nature’s canvas, there is one odd item that will remain like a sculpture in rubber. It makes a good sign post in what might appear to be a very isolated and anonymous length of shoreline. That’s just how it rolls I presume, here on the south Cape coast of Africa.
(photos my own)
A tire??? Thst has to be the strangest thing ever found on that beach. Maybe some kids did it.
Your second home really is beautiful :)
Hey there many thanks for your positive feedback friend, yes this place is a sweet hideaway. That tire could become a great piece of furniture down on the beach if I decide to spend more time lying low here.
Definitely, drag it further back, and put it to good use :) Tires have oil in them from what I remember, so it's probably a good idea to get it above the tide anyway.
Hey thanks for the reminder, that's a good idea. It's quite heavy but with a long enough lever one can even tilt the world.
True! And you could always use a driftwood raft to get it at least partway there?
Yes there's loads of driftwood around. I could build an entire set of furniture for my second home here.
Nice :) Such pieces would really be beautiful too
!PIZZA
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