Overnight, National Geographic Explorer sailed east from Cape Town and we spent today discovering the history of Mossel Bay. In 1488, explorer Bartholomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope and arrived at Mossel Bay to replenish freshwater supplies. In doing so, he opened the sea route to the east, linking the Atlantic and Indian Oceans to advance trade in goods, silver, spices, and many other commodities. 500 years later a replica caravel reenacted Dias’ voyage, which then became the Museum at Mossel Bay’s featured exhibit. A gin distillery and lighthouse were among other interesting town tour stops.

While the Pinnacle Point caves are located on cliffs beneath a golf resort, they are protected as both research and world heritage sites. We visited cave 13B, itself over 500,000 years old and first utilized by people 164,000 years ago; as one of only a few sites in all of Africa that document this crucial phase in human origin, cave 13B is especially significant. Here, archaeologists have found the earliest dated evidence of humans consuming marine food resources, using pigments, and applying heat to improve the quality and function of their stone tools.