Umhlanga Rocks Lighthouse

-

South African Lighthouse No. 23


The Replacement


The Umhlanga* Lighthouse was built in 1954 to replace the 1869 Bluff Lighthouse, which had to be abandoned due to its rapid deterioration.

Photo by Dennis Guichard

In addition to the standard automated light, rotating to warn off seafarers, it also has a fixed red light to help ships monitor their position - if the light can be seen, it means their anchors probably dragged and that they've come too close to the shore.

There has never been a lighthouse keeper here. The Oyster Box Hotel, also the first beach cottage in the area, serves as the official warden. Its staff monitor the lighthouse's controls (in the hotel office) and then send regular status reports to Transnet Port Authority's Lighthouse Service.

*Zulu for 'Place of Reeds'


As I wrap up this, the last of the South African Lighthouse posts, I'm painfully aware of the fact that I have never been lucky enough to visit one in real life (we've always resided inland, and rarely get to go to the sea). Have you ever explored a lighthouse? What's it like?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cape St Blaize:

-
Image
South African Lighthouse No. 6 The oldest working lighthouse in South Africa today. It was commissioned on 15 March 1864, which means that it's not only the oldest working lighthouse down here, it is also protected under the National Heritage Resources Act 25 of 1999. Pic Source:  TravelGround Blog Finding attractive images of this lighthouse, like I did with my previous  online adventures , proved quite difficult. This Victorian structure just seem so rigid, reflecting the prim nature of the  era , I guess. Obviously any lighthouse stems from the need to protect seafarers from rocky and precarious shores, and this lighthouse is no different; but its location was named by Bartolomeu Dias (when he sailed into Mossel Bay on 3 February 1488*). He called it Bahia (Aguada) de Sao Bras, "the watering place of St Blaize"**. From what I could gather, the southern shores are also lined with cliffs and that there are massive caverns on the sides of these cliffs, w...
Read more

Good-bye Locks, Good-bye Honeymoon

-
Okay, so they finally managed to breach our defenses; and left with (amongst other things) a laptop, PS3, hubby's wedding ring & silver watch. We bought our home last year and it definitely isn't the first time someone tried to get in - we're in SA after all - but it is the first time goods were stolen. Unfortunately for the thieves I do not own anything other than plus-sized clothing, weird shoes, costume jewellery, make-up and hair accessories. However, for us it also means that they've now taken everything valuable we don't carry around with us/keep off the premises; and we don't have household insurance. The insurance is not really THAT much of a bummer for me, because generally we prefer to save for and spend on experiences rather than possessions, but this does mean we are forced to face the obvious security loopholes for the sake of personal safety (an axe is currently lying at the crime scene entry point waiting for fingerprint dusting, imagine ho...
Read more

Home Alone

-
I'm a hardcore introvert, who really enjoys her own company. I'm weird (not cool weird, just weird). I thrive on personal freedom. Solitude is my soul companion. Or, that's what I thought before being home alone over a long weekend. Our suburb is deafeningly quiet over the Easter weekend, because most of our neighbours go on vacation this time of year. At first, this was great. I had the whole bed to myself, slept in, and with no one around to question my nutritional choices, I lived on caffeine & nicotine alone. Less than twenty four hours in, it got to me a bit. So much so that I accidentally got drunk on vodka from the freezer - all by myself - and started researching Pretoria and Joburg nightlife online (not that I would've been able to drive anywhere in my inebriated state, even if I found anything worthwhile). What made matters worse, is that my husband went on a "camping" trip with the boys to  Witchfest , so he isn't even around to annoy...
Read more