St Blaize Cave

Useful Information

Location:	Mossel Bay/Mosselbaai. N2 exit 393 "Mosselbaai", turn left at the end of the ramp, at traffic lights turn right 5.1 km, left at the sign "Marshstraat" 1.8 km, right 400 m to the car park below the Cape St Blaize lighthouse. (-34.186228, 22.156859)
Open:	Cape St Blaize Cave: no restrictions. Pinnacle Point Caves: Reservation mandatory. [2026]
Fee:	Cape St Blaize Cave: free. Pinnacle Point Caves: Adults ZAR 300, Children (7-14) ZAR 100, Children (0-6) free. [2026]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	Electric Light
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Point of Human Origins, Pinnacle Point, 1 Pinnacle Dr, Mossel Bay 6511, Tel: +27-79-640-0004, WhatsApp: +27-79-640-000. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1888	excavation at Cape St. Blaize Cave by George Leith.
1899	Cape St. Blaize Cave studied by T. Rupert Jones.
1920s	excavations by A.J.H (John) Goodwin.
2000	start of excavation by Mossel Bay Archaeology Project (MAP).
2024	inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Description

St Blaize Cave is the biggest and most important cave of 15 caves in the area of Cape St Blaize. The cave has always been a lookout point and is still used today for whale and dolphin watching. But 1999 the caves were chosen for excavation by the paleo-anthropologist Prof Curtis Marean of the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University in the U.S.A.

The Mossel Bay Archeology Project included scientists from many disciplines from the US, Israel, Australia and South Africa. The excavations were especially successful in St Blaize Cave and Cave PP13B aka Pinnacle Point Cave 13B. They revealed evidence that early man lived along the Southern Cape coast 164,000 years ago. A scientific sensation was evidence that early man had made use of marine resources for food. The so far earliest evidence was only 120,000 years, which means that humans started doing this at least 40,000 years earlier.

There are several archaeological sights in the area, numerous caves at Cape St. Blaize and nearby Pinnacle Point. There are many rock art sites in the area and ancient Khoisan fish traps. Obviously those sites are much younger.

After the excavations were completed, the caves were not open for the public. The Eden district municipality has given Mossel Bay Tourism a grant to upgrade the facilities at the St Blaize Cave. They built new and repaired existing boardwalks and paving in and around the cave. Today there are public trails which start at the Cape St Blaize lighthouse car park, which then continue as St Blaize Hiking Trail 13 km to Danabaai. The site is always open to visitors without any restrictions, for self-guided tours with educational signs along the trail.

Quite different is the situation at Pinnacle Point. This cape is privately owned by a golf course, and access is only possible through the golf course. They offer guided tours which take 90 min, and include a lot of staircases. From the plateau above wooden staircases lead down to the caves. However, it’s possible to visit the cave nevertheless freely, but only by hiking the St Blaize Hiking Trail, either from St Blaize lighthouse or from Danabaai. As Pinnacle Point 13B is located right in the middle this requires a three-hour hike. This option is nevertheless popular and offers great views. In any case, sun protection, walking shoes, water and probably a snack are a good idea.

The tours to Pinnacle Point Cave 13B are offered by Point of Human Origins, not by the golf course. They have their home at the golf course’s administration building and also run the restaurant(?). There is no online booking system, just send an email, call, or use WhatsApp.