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Southern most tip of Africa
Cape Agulhas is a small coastal village in the Western Cape and is the southernmost settlement on the mainland of Africa and the southernmost tip of the African continent. Although many believe that Cape Point, which is further north, is where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet, they actually meet here, at Cape Agulhas. It should come as no surprise then that ocean currents are strong here, and Aghulhas is known for rogue waves.
Cape Aghulas is the graveyard for more than 250 once-proud vessels, including the Japanese trawler Meishu Maru 38, whose rusting wreck can be seen 2km west of the Agulhas lighthouse. This is one of the world's most treacherous stretches of coast as the ocean here is shallow, rock-strewn and subject to heavy swells and strong currents.
Cape Agulhas was named by early Portuguese navigators who were the first to round the tip of Africa in the 15th century. At the southernmost point of their journey, the sailors noted that their compass needles were unaffected by magnetic deviation, but pointed true North instead.
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