I was in South Africa for five weeks, and every time I called my dad he would ask if I had been to Cape Point yet. I would tell him no, not yet, but that it was on our list of things to do. I couldn’t understand why he thought it was so important for me to go.

Finally, the day before I was supposed to leave, we found the time to drive out to Cape Point. We left the kids behind, and I went with the person who I was staying with. On the drive out we ate chocolate and listened to music, and stopped to take lots of pictures of the different coastal views.

When we got to the national park, we ran into some baboons who didn’t seem to know that sitting in the middle of the road was not a good idea.

Finally we got past the baboons, after taking pictures of course, and continued on our way to Cape Point. When we got to the parking lot, we got out of the car and began to hike up to Cape Point, which let me tell you, is not an easy walk.

First of all, it’s uphill. And then there are the stairs, which seem to never end. But once you get to the top, boy is it worth it.

There’s a view every direction you look, and a huge boulder with what must be thousands of different names from all around the world inscribed on it. The drop from where you stand down to the water makes your stomach drop just looking at it, but even from far away, you can see the transparency of the water.

Standing on the tip of Africa takes your breath away. It’s amazingly beautiful, and hearing the history of the sailors who would come around the Cape of Good Hope to finally see Cape Point, and know that they are finally there was amazing.

It’s an amazing place filled with history and beauty. After going, I finally understood why my dad had been so insistent that I must go see Cape Point. It’s hard to explain how powerful it is. But if you’re ever in Africa, you have to go.