Da Gama Peak ...

Any number of pictures of the old buildings above the hikers' cabins on Da Gama Peak would prove boring. Unless they were shot under a psychedelic sky … or ablaze … or photoshopped to something else. They're public works buildings of the first order, probably belonging to the same group built across the point during WWII.

In fact, they are. Following my finding the stamp of the South African Army Corps of Engineers on one of the WWII radar station pillboxes down at the point, I'd rooted around Google and discovered Da Gama Peak's small building to have had similar origins.

Offering respite from the shade on a hot day, they epitomize the short amble up Da Gama Peak from the Rooikrans parking lot. Singularly uninspiring, it appears to be a Cape Point anomaly, an instance of featureless similarity marring countless natural wonders. "Never mind," I thought, sitting on a rock overlooking the northern sector of the park, "At least I can say I've been here."

I guess you can go anywhere and see nothing. Sitting there, I realised Da Gama Peak's extraordinary value. It's a lookout second to none. If you click on the picture above, you'll begin to discern virtually every point on the Cape Point map. You won't, for example, see Sirkelsvlei, a large natural body of fresh water to the northwest. Nor will you see places hidden by the point's numerous capes and coves.

It's nevertheless a stunning overview leading to a greater mystery. How the hell does so much fit into one picture?

Rockhopping back to the peak before descending the circular path overlooking the point, I wondered at my having invested two years of scrambling, walking, and crawling in that view. By the time I reached the car park — visible at centre-bottom, I felt invigorated and kept on walking, down to Rooikrans ...

Who was this Vasco Da Gama for whom so many South African memorials were erected and after which so many of the Cape's places are named? According to Wikipedia, he was a fat cat and sailor of sorts ...