Flashback to our short holiday in Cape Agulhas a week ago. We stopped at a fantastic wine shop in Agulhas and bought some Lands End Sauvignon Blanc to quaff at the southernmost tip of Africa - just past the lighthouse depicted on its label. Very good! Especially with smoked salmon from The Little Fisherman at High Constantia. No wonder I can't get back into real life ...
Earth Hour at Southermost: 26 March 2011. Photo: Meg Cowper-Lewis. 
This church with its beautiful angel weathervane is the heart of Elim, a little village on the Agulhas Plain which is still owned and run by the Moravian church. In 1824 the Moravians founded the mission station on a farm, largely to offer a safe haven to freed slaves. 
We were fortunate to chance upon a wedding this hot and sultry Sunday, where the groom and the bride both arrived in a horse and cart with a beautiful arch of palm fronds and protea flowers. The name Elim comes from the reference to an oasis of palm trees in the Bible and palms are very much a feature of the village.
Just outside the enchanting village of Elim, near the southern tip of Africa, the vineyards produce surprisingly good wine. Apparently the cool breezes that blow off the nearby ocean allow the grapes to remain on the vines just that little bit longer to develop their flavour. We called in at The Berrio, to taste some of this wine. The Berrio has a stylish tasting centre with views over the beautiful Agulhas Plain. Children and dogs are there to welcome you, and Franchen Pratt came out to guide us through the Estate's gorgeous wines - each one more tasty than the next. She and her husband Francis are the owners of this magical estate and Francis is the winemaker. My favourite wine was the figgy flavoured Weathergirl 2009 (33% semillion and 67% sauvignon blanc blend).
Today is windy and stormy in Cape Town, so thought I would re-visit the southern tip of Africa today after our lovely relaxing weekend there. This magical, remote and wild place is only 3 hours drive from Cape Town and easily accessible. Here are some of the ocean birds we saw - a Grey Heron, some Cape Cormorants and White-breasted Cormorants, an African Black Oystercatcher (below the heron on the left of the photo) and lower down and to the right, some Curlew Sandpipers, probably newly arrived from Siberia.
Been away for the weekend - to a little holiday village called Suiderstrand (meaning southernmost beach). This photo of Suiderstrand - looking westwards - was taken on Saturday just after a storm. We are about 3 km away from the southern tip of Africa here.
Cape Town Time