If you drive south along the small road from Hondeklip Bay along the sea, you can see this primeval relic lying on the stones on the shore from afar. At first glance it looks like a giant dinosaur fish whose skeleton is slowly crumbling.
But if you look closely, you realize that these iron remains belong to the Aristea, which ran aground here on July 4, 1945 and is now slowly corroding away as a shipwreck.
Originally built in Scotland as a fish trawler, she was used as a minesweeper in WWII. Now it serves as a tourist attraction right next to a large barbecue area and stimulates the imagination of young and old visitors, who tell all sorts of sailor’s yarns during the braai (= South African barbecue).
The photo was taken on December 14th, 2021 during my trip through Namaqualand in South Africa.
