A photo of this beautiful beacon seen from Odland drive.
This beacon was built along the picturesque Garden Route. Built on a rocky promontory jutting into the warm Indian Ocean, where the idyllic beachfront setting remains unsurpassed.
Beacon Island is at the mouth of the Piesang River and has a history that goes back to 1771. In that year the first navigational beacon was erected on the island. The original was a square block of stinkwood, inscribed with the latitude and longitude of Plettenberg Bay, and erected to enable mariners to check their location and chronometers. It also gave Beacon Island its name. The wooden beacon was replaced by Captain Sewell with a stone one in 1881 and has been replaced a couple of times over the years. It can be seen in the gardens of the hotel.
Whaling in the bay was started by John Sinclair with the first cargo of whale oil leaving the shores of Plettenberg Bay in 1834. A number of other men continued to whale in the bay, but it was Cornelius Watson and Percy Toplis who managed to obtain the first lease to use Beacon Island as a whaling station. In 1908 the Thesen family of Knysna bought the whaling station from Toplis and invested heavily into what they hoped would be a lucrative whaling business.
Over an 8-year period, they brought in seven whaling steamers from Norway, a meat boiling plant, an electric-lighting plant and a team of renowned Norwegian whalers. Unfortunately their operation didn’t last long and whaling was halted in 1916. The Norwegians had underestimated the whaling potential of the bay and World War I prevented the export of oil to England during that period. One of the original iron pots used to boil the whale blubber can still be seen on the grounds of the hotel along with a couple of harpoons.
The first Beacon Island Hotel was erected by Hugh Owen Grant in 1940 and the present hotel was built in 1972.
In order to log this virtual cache, please answer the questions below:
1. Walking up the ramp towards the front door of the hotel, there are a number of semi-circle shaped light cut-outs in the concrete wall. How many of these light cut-outs are there?
2. When standing at the entrance of the Hotel, there are 2 different sea creatures visible in close proximity to the front door. What are these 2 creatures?
3. When at the front door, walk approximately 20m south towards the southern garden. Here you will find a harpoon and pot. Which direction (N / S / E / W) is the harpoon spear facing?
4. In a western direction, you will notice a small pedestrian bridge leading over the lagoon towards a number of resturants. In front of the parking lot is a large art sculpture made out of recycled materials. What animal does this recycled sculpture resemble?
5. Please attach a photo of your geocaching name or GPS co-ords with this famous beacon in the background.
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.