Lighthouses

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On my travels I have come across some lighthouses which, like churches and beautiful bridges, are one of those structures that always get photographed. In my research about these structures my interest grew to the point where I'd like to see all the Lighthouses South Africa has to offer. And interesting structures they are! Usually with lots of history and some shipwrecks nearby.

The world’s first recorded lighthouse was the Pharos Lighthouse in Alexandria, Egypt. Built in 280 B.C., the Pharos Lighthouse was more than 450 feet tall and had a giant statue of Poseidon (the Greek god of the sea) at the top. A huge bonfire was lit at the top of the tower and the smoke guided ships by day and the glow guided ships by night. The Pharos Lighthouse was so huge that it was named one the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The tower was used for more than 1,500 years before it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1303 A.D.

The modern lighthouses date only from the early 18th century and modern construction methods have facilitated the building of offshore lighthouses. The most common illuminant used in modern lighthouses is the electric-filament lamp. Refinements in lenses (e.g., the Fresnel lens) and reflectors made it possible to substantially increase the light's intensity.

Today radio and satellite-based navigation systems have greatly reduced the need for large lighthouses in sighting land. The result being that the houses once utilized by lighthouse personnel are now standing empty. The authorities to recover some of the costs of maintaining the properties have opened up eight lighthouses to the public and have converted the empty houses into self catering units for use by the public.

No matter their size or shape, lighthouses have served an important role in keeping ships and sailors safe from harm. Their shining lights have served as important navigational aids for thousands of years and have prevented countless shipwrecks by warning unsuspecting vessels away from unseen dangers. Although they are now considered old fashioned and obsolete, lighthouses continue to serve as symbols of hope to this day.


Lighthouses I have visited so far:
(Click on the name for more info.)

Cape Agulhas - Agulhas.
34 49 08 South, 20 00 33 East




Cape St Blaize - Mossel Bay.
34 11 10 South, 22 09 25 East




Green Point.
33°54'5.10"S, 18°23'59.76"E




Seal Point - 30 km from Humansdorp.
34 12 44.79 South, 24 50 11.92 East




Slangkop.
34 08 54.59 South, 18 19 11.89 East




Ystervark Punt.
34°23'33.51"S, 21°43'40.94"E





Lighthouses yet to be visited:

Cape Columbine - Paternoster.
32 48 39 South, 17 51 23 East

Cape Hangklip.
34 23 11.4 South, 18 49 42.3 East

Cape Hermes - Port St Johns.
31 38 06 South, 29 33 23 East

Cape Point.
32 21 24.36 South, 18 29 12 East

Cape Recife - Algoa Bay.
34 01 43.97 South, 25 42 03.90 East

Cape Vidal - Natal north coast.
28 08 51.976 South, 32 33 10.7665 East

Danger Point - Walker Bay, near Gansbaai.
34 37 48.8 South, 19 18 10.9 East

Dassen Island.
33 25 54 South, 18 05 22 East

Great Fish Point - Great Fish River, 25km Port Alfred.
33 31 10 South, 27 06 34 East


Hood Point - East London.
33 02 25.96 South, 27 53 55.00 East

Milnerton.
33 52 53.47 South, 18 29 18.52 East

Port Shepstone.
30 44 30.1 South, 30 27 33.0 East

Robben Island.
38 48 52.20 South, 18 22 29.25 East

Roman Rock - Simons Town.
34 21 52.92 South, 18 27 38.94 East

St Lucia.
28 31 08 South, 31 23 50 East

Swakopmund - Namibia.
22 40 32 South, 14 31 29 East

The Hill - Port Elizabeth.
33°57'44.18"S, 25°37'14.15"E

Umhlanga Rocks.
29 43 41.57 South, 31 05 18.20 East

Sources:

Lighthouses of South Africa

An outstanding site, posted by Simon Baillie-Cooper, with extensive data, historical information, and photos. The site is frame-based, so links to individual lighthouses are not provided.

Lighthouses of South Africa

A blog by Joe Viljoen; this very valuable site has photos and recent information on nearly all South African lights.

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