Dias Padrao
An easily accessible cache close to Dias Padrao also known as Dias Monument or Marine Beacon in the centre of the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. A padrao is a limestone pillar with the Portuguese coat-of-arms and an inscription stating when and by whom it was raised.
The cross signified Portuguese sovereignty and Christianity. It is a monument because it was erected to commemorate famous Portuguese voyages of discovery made by Bartholomeu Dias in 1487-8 (the route around the Cape). A similar padrao some 1.5km to the north-east near Bordjiesrif commemorates such voyages made by Vasco Da Gama in 1497-99 (the sea route to India).
It is also a marine beacon because when lined up with the Da Gama beacon they indicate the position of the dangerous Whittle Rock out in False Bay thus helping ships avoid this hazard. They are both painted black on the seaward side so that they are silhouetted against the sky for ships navigators. They are not originals and were constructed in 1965. Details of the originals (design, how & where they were built) have never been resolved. Further details are provided on the SANParks Information Board at the monument parking area.
See also here for more interesting facts on Dias and his voyages. He died at sea in 1500 when his ship sank in a huge storm off the Cape while part of a fleet on a voyage to India. Appropriately he had originally named the Cape as the Cape of Storms (Cabo das Tormentas)! It was later renamed by King John II of Portugal as the Cape of Good Hope (Cabo da Boa Esperança) because it represented the opening of a route to the east.
To reach the cache:
Park at the beacon S34 19.310 E18 26.894. Follow a small trail on the north side of the beacon for approximately 50m to the cache area. The cache, a small pharmaceutical container, is hidden under a large flat white rock near a large dead protea bush.