Dias Museum, Market Street, Hamardt Place, Mossel Bay Ward 8, Mossel Bay Local Municipality, George, Western Cape, 6506, South Africa
Attractions close by
Point of Human Origins 6kmGarden Route Trail Park 30kmCango Caves Zipline 34kmSandboarding in Mossel Bay 37kmOuteniqua Power Van 39kmIn today’s digital age, we rarely send a letter. It’s sad to think that this romantic, personal, tradition has been somewhat lost amongst the email, Whatsapp and Skype messages. That’s what makes the Post Office Tree in the coastal town of Mossel Bay in the Garden Route so special and why people flock here to send a letter to their loved ones. You’ll be able to send a card in the field garden in the Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex and your stamp will be marked with a special commemorative frank – and the people who receive your letter will enjoy the thrill of reading real, live mail.
It’s a tradition that dates back to 1500 when the ship’s captain Pêro de Ataide found himself separated from his fleet: he’d sailed from Portugal to India with 12 other ships under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral, and they’d encountered hostility at the port of Calicut (now Kozhikode). He wanted to warn the following fleet about the situation in India. He wrote a report, left it hidden in the very same milkwood tree that we now call the Post Office Tree, and sailed for home.
How did the story end? We know that Cabral found the letter, and that he used the information to defeat the Calicut fleet off Cannanore on December 31, 1501 – but we’re not sure exactly how the manuscript survived its time in the wild. Some people think it was hidden in an iron pot, some say it was placed in an old boot tied to the tree. A boot-shaped post box now accepts your cards and letters - and it’s helped make the Post Office Tree one of Mossel Bay’s biggest attractions.
![1479984717377 4ye Rvr2k Gz 1479984717377 4ye Rvr2k Gz](https://wesgro.imgix.net/uploads/files/1479984717377_4yeRvr2kGz.avif?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=clip&q=90&ratio=&w=2000&s=e3a01f83cc652e18cf991a0d1354a3ad 2000w, https://wesgro.imgix.net/uploads/files/1479984717377_4yeRvr2kGz.avif?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=clip&q=90&ratio=&w=1800&s=48464468d1b00df70df9a764c0daa059 1800w, https://wesgro.imgix.net/uploads/files/1479984717377_4yeRvr2kGz.avif?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=clip&q=90&ratio=&w=1600&s=9d603d458f764745cc192a1470d7fb92 1600w, https://wesgro.imgix.net/uploads/files/1479984717377_4yeRvr2kGz.avif?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=clip&q=90&ratio=&w=1400&s=561908fe8b4fc8adcd9aeb5a58fef417 1400w, https://wesgro.imgix.net/uploads/files/1479984717377_4yeRvr2kGz.avif?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=clip&q=90&ratio=&w=1200&s=d20b7041d74b04bc27b7af78aa757fd6 1200w, https://wesgro.imgix.net/uploads/files/1479984717377_4yeRvr2kGz.avif?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=clip&q=90&ratio=&w=1000&s=2108602203520d35ecf9311cbd062e21 1000w, https://wesgro.imgix.net/uploads/files/1479984717377_4yeRvr2kGz.avif?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=clip&q=90&ratio=&w=800&s=d0976c0f819a7fcbef71ab7b80aba542 800w, https://wesgro.imgix.net/uploads/files/1479984717377_4yeRvr2kGz.avif?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=clip&q=90&ratio=&w=600&s=181a521c1e97272ff2cb890aeeeebd69 600w, https://wesgro.imgix.net/uploads/files/1479984717377_4yeRvr2kGz.avif?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=clip&q=90&ratio=&w=400&s=a9302b028516ab7c4e7819b21a51f66d 400w, https://wesgro.imgix.net/uploads/files/1479984717377_4yeRvr2kGz.avif?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=clip&q=90&ratio=&w=300&s=7a0d763e32ca17d39c71cfc0d68c4d48 300w)