The Post Office Tree is this Complex’s central attraction: it was first used in 1500 as a dropping-off point by the Portuguese Mariner Pedro de Ataide.

Incredibly, the letter he left behind was found by the person to whom it was addressed - Joao da Nova. Across the lawn, the Maritime Museum houses a life-size replica of a caravel like the one in which Bartolomeu Dias and his men sailed into the Bay in 1488 - to become the first Europeans to land on South African soil.

Other attractions: The Granary (reception and information centre); the largest Shell Museum in Africa; an ethno-botanical garden and Braille Trail; historic Malay graves; and a large and peaceful field garden with its spring - from which Dias and his colleagues probably collected fresh water. Remember to post a card from the Post Office Tree - it’ll be marked with aspecial commemorative frank.