OD PRE 11

On the trail of Charles Darwin and

John Herschel: The Cape in the 1830s

TRIP LEADER: INHIGEO; Gregory Good, Brian Warner, Barry Cooper, John Compton

The early history of geology in South Africa involves the most famous scientists of the time: John

Herschel and Charles Darwin. Herschel, best known as an astronomer, lived at the Cape in the 1830s.

When not at the telescope, Herschel was a keen observer of landscapes, strata, and rocks. He visited

Lion’s Head, Table Mountain, Paarl Rock, and Franschoek and beyond, making geological observations

like those he made in the Alps in the 1820s.

This day tour visits several of Herschel’s geological sites and one to which he sent the young Charles

Darwin in 1836, the “Sea Point Contact,” a site visited by Basil Hall 25 years earlier. This tour follows the

footsteps of Herschel and Darwin.

DATE:

27 August 2016

Minimum Persons 12

Maximum Persons 12

COST INCLUDES:

• Transport in private touring vehicles

• Visit the sights as indicated

• Packed Lunch en-route

• 2 x Bottles of water per person

• Local English speaking driver on all transfers