The tragic history of the Agulhas coastline is dramatically evoked at the Shipwreck Museum, situated in the south-western Cape town of Bredasdorp, 30 km from the coast.

The southernmost coastline of Africa is also one of its most dangerous parts - with an estimated 250 vessels and 2 500 people lost in its waters down through the centuries. No wonder, then, that generations of sailors have referred to this area as the 'ships' graveyard'.

The nearest town to this treacherous stretch of coast is Bredasdorp. Both Bredasdorp and the surrounding Strandveld owe much of their character and history to the ships and wreckage that fate so often washed up on their doorstep.

The museum is housed in a historical building in the centre of town. A series of scale models demonstrates the death throes of a ship until its final disintegration, when it is buried by sand. The bulk of the exhibits are the artefacts and remains from four of the area's biggest wrecks, notably the Arniston, the Birkenhead, the Queen of the Thames and the Oriental Pioneer.