The Coastal Journey

The Coastal Journey

Discover the earliest forms of art and technology

Make your way to the spectacular Robberg Nature Reserve to track some fascinating archaeological discoveries at Nelson Bay Cave. The site preserves archaeological materials from the Middle and Later Stone Age and thus dates from more than 40 000 years ago up to recent San occupation.

Artefacts ranging from Middle Stone Age tools to 2 000-year-old pottery, graves containing human remains buried in a fetal position and decorated with shells and ochre, and many more cultural finds have been found in the cave. The site has a spectacular record that documents changes in the environment during glacial and interglacial conditions and illustrates how the sea level during the glacial period was much lower than today exposing the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain, now submerged. As the glacial ice melted around 12 000 years ago, that landscape was obliterated and the coast moved to its current position right next to the cave.

Nelson Bay cave was first excavated in the 1960s, and the results showed that the diet of the early humans who lived here comprised of food ranging from birds, eggs and plants to shellfish, as well as seals and bush pigs.

Access to the site is from inside the nature reserve, about 8km from the coastal town of Plettenberg Bay. Set aside enough time to explore the cave and its beautiful surrounds.

For more information, please visit www.capenature.co.za

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1
Cape Town
50km to next stop

Cape Town is a fusion of diversity. It is a city overflowing with attractions for visitors interested in history, art, culture and a beautiful environment.

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2
Dylan Lewis Sculpture Garden | Stellenbosch
6km to next stop

The seven-hectare Dylan Lewis Sculpture Garden in Paradyskloof, Stellenbosch, is set among lush indigenous vegetation. The project was born in 2009 when its creator, the artist Dylan Lewis, started shaping the contours of the garden.

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3
Dine with a local | Stellenbosch
420km to next stop

The ‘Kayamandi Township Tour’ and ‘Dine With a Local’ experience offer visitors to Stellenbosch the chance to dine with locals from different backgrounds and learn about their daily lives, listen to their stories, and hear of their hopes and aspirations.

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4
Cango Caves | Oudtshoorn
93km to next stop

The Cango Caves is one of the world’s great natural wonders, sculpted by nature through the ages to create limestone formations in a wide variety of colours. Visitors can explore the spectacular underground wonders, including the finest dripstone caverns, vast halls and towering formations.

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5
Dine with locals | George
95km to next stop

Book a two-hour ‘Dine with a Local’ experience through the George Tourism office to share a home-cooked meal with locals and enjoy music, poetry or dancing together. Diners can experience traditional cuisine, and supporting this local development project.

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6
Nelson Bay Cave | Plettenberg Bay
141km to next stop

Make your way to the spectacular Robberg Nature Reserve to track some fascinating archaeological discoveries at Nelson Bay Cave. The site preserves archaeological materials from the Middle and Later Stone Age and thus dates from more than 40 000 years ago up to recent San occupation.

Read more See map Plettenberg Bay
7
Cape St Blaize Cave | Mossel Bay
9km to next stop

The cave at Cape St Blaize, below Mossel Bay’s lighthouse, is the site of some of South Africa’s first Middle Stone Age archaeological excavations. More recently, parts of the cave were explored by scientists as part of the Mossel Bay Archaeology Project, which was also conducting excavations at Pinnacle Point Site Complex.

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8
Pinnacle Point | Mossel Bay
110km to next stop

At the archaeological site of Pinnacle Point, an international team of researchers has found some of the earliest evidence for modern human behaviour.

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9
Blombos Cave | Still Bay
29km to next stop

Blombos Cave is a world-famous archeological site, overlooking the sea and located in a private nature reserve not open to the public. Archaeologists have uncovered some of the first evidence of symbolism, cognitive thinking and technological advancement, traits used to define modern human behaviour.

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10
Tidal Fish Traps | Still Bay
218km to next stop

At Still Bay at least 25 stonewalled fish traps represent the technological and economic evolution of early fishing practices in the area. These traps were built at the correct height to trap fish during a falling tide.

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11
Waenhuiskrans Cave | Arniston
110km to next stop

Continue your exploration at the picturesque seaside town of Waenhuiskrans, also known as Arniston, about 25km from Bredasdorp. Here, discover – though only at low tide! – the massive limestone Waenhuiskrans Cave, falling within the Waenhuiskrans Nature Reserve.

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12
Klipgat Cave | De Kelders
30km to next stop

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13
Phillipskop Mountain Reserve | Stanford
160km to next stop

The Phillipskop Mountain Reserve lies 10km east of Stanford. This is one of the few sites with rock art in the Cape Overberg region and the only known site in the Cape Whale Coast.

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