A sudden change of plans caused by the Cape of Good Hope’s notorious winds resulted in an unexpected, stimulating, and very welcome diversion for guests aboard the ship National Geographic Orion.
The Orion – which is owned and operated by the Seattle-based Lindblad Expeditions – is currently sailing from Cape Town for Dar es Salaam in Tanzania on a 3-week-long ‘Wildlife and Cultures of South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar’ itinerary. With accommodation for 102 guests – and with expert naturalists, historians, photographers, a videographer, an undersea specialist, dive-masters, and a wellness specialist on board – the ship is designed, staffed and equipped to provide active and immersive experiences and insights into the many habitats that guests encounter during its voyages.
“Yesterday’s stop in Mossel Bay was a scheduled one, and the guests were originally booked to go by coach to Knysna – but high winds delayed her departure from Cape Town, so she had less time in Mossel Bay than planned,” said Mossel Bay Tourism’s Marcia Holm.
“But with Africa Easy handling the ground arrangements, and Hylton Ross Exclusive Touring supplying road transport, the decision was made to take the passengers to the Cape St. Blaize Cave – a popular view point here in Mossel Bay that’s also the site of one of South Africa’s earliest scientific archaeological excavations – where Peter Nilssen gave them a brief introduction to the archaeology of the Middle Stone Age in the Southern Cape,” she said.
Ms. Holm said that finds in the Pinnacle Point Caves – 8 km west of Cape St. Blaize – have revealed the earliest evidence for modern human behaviour.
Dr. Nilssen and his colleague, Jonathan Kaplan (of the Agency for Cultural Resource Management), discovered the deposits at Pinnacle Point in the late ‘90s, and Dr. Nilssen introduced them to Professor Curtis Marean, an associate director of the Institute of Human Origins and professor at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University. Prof. Marean later established the South African Coastal Palaeoclimate, Palaeoenvironment, Palaeoecology and Palaeoanthropology (SACP4) Project to study the caves. More than 40 scientists from around the world have contributed to the Project – and their work is ongoing.
National Geographic
“National Geographic’s motto is ‘Inspiring people to care about the planet,’ and that’s become my mission, too,” said Dr. Nilssen, who now leads Point of Human Origins Experience – a half-day tour that includes an in-depth presentation as well as a visit to the Pinnacle Point Caves for groups of up to 15 visitors at a time.
“We now know that everyone alive on the planet today descends from a small, core population of perhaps only a few thousand individuals who lived in Africa around 200,000 years ago – which is probably why everyone who visits Africa feels a sense of connection when they come to the continent,” he said.
“But the truth is that what we’ve learned from the Caves – amongst others, about how humans interacted with our environment over all those years – highlights the deep disconnection that we as a species now feel from the natural world around us.
“It’s this disconnect that’s brought us to the brink of the 6th Mass Extinction Event – and by sharing our knowledge of our beginnings, we hope to get people to engage more fully with the world we live in, and to join the movement to bring about positive change,” he said.
Mossel Bay
During their visit to Mossel Bay, the guests of the National Geographic Orion also visited Eight Bells Mountain Inn – where they enjoyed a walk and tea – as well as two of the town’s Heart 2 Heart Care Centres (which provide holistic care, psychosocial support, education and empowerment to children, youth and women affected by HIV/AIDS, TB, or crisis pregnancy. The tour organisers used the opportunity to make a donation to the Centres on behalf of the ship’s community.)
Ms. Holm thanked Dr. Nilssen, as well as René Bongers and his team at Eight Bells Mountain Inn, and the staff of The Point Hotel (who served refreshments to some of the guests) for accommodating the visitors at very short notice.
Africa Easy’s CEO and founder, Nadia Eckhardt, said that the ship’s guests were very happy with their experience of the town. “They asked us to say a special ‘Thank you’ to the people of Mossel Bay for making us all so welcome,” she said.
A video of Dr. Nilssen’s talk has been uploaded to YouTube.
More information:
Mossel Bay: www.visitmosselbay.co.za
Point of Human Origins: www.humanorigin.co.za
Heart 2 Heart Care Centres: www.heart2heart.org.za
Eight Bells Mountain Inn: www.eightbells.co.za
The Point Hotel: www.pointhotel.co.za
Follow Mossel Bay Tourism on
- Twitter: @GetMe2MosselBay or @MBayTourism
- Facebook: VisitMosselBay
