Views from the iconic Table Mountain

Apparently one of the must do things when in Cape Town is to experience the views on top of Table Mountain. And being the adventurous people we are the only way to the top is to climb. There is a cable car but that would be way to easy and not very rewarding. Also Christiane brought her new hiking boots all the way from Switzerland and it would have been a shame not to break them in. So being the fit and energetic people we are (well one of us is I will let you decide which one) we set of from the bottom just as the midday sun started beating down (obviously we didn’t want to make it too easy) 

We choose the easier route mainly because it was only 2.5 hours and well signposted, there are harder longer routes but we were advised that a guide would be preferable if you wanted to attempt these. Obviously Christiane wanted to take the hardest route up but after some gentle persuasion on my part we decided on the shorter one. This route called PlatteKlip Gorge mainly consisted of rocks and stones littering a man-made path. They had been arranged to resemble stairs and I use the term stairs quite liberally here. If you have ever tried scrambling then that is a more accurate picture of what it was like. It started gently enough but about a third of a way up it become rather steep and by the top hands as well as feet were the only way forward. But as you can see from the pictures getting to the top with its amazing views was reward enough for the 2 and a half hour of unrelenting ascent. Luckily for me once at the top there is no need to descend as there is a picturesque cable car just waiting to take the tired but extremely satisfied climbers down. As we descended via the cable car we noticed a man climbing one of the sheer faces of the mountain, not that amazing in itself but the fact that he was by himself and without any ropes or harness made everyone on the cable car drop theirs jaws in amazement and respect.

After experiencing these amazing views I can now understand why everyone raves about climbing Table Mountain. What little breath you have left is completely taken away and justifiably so. No wonder this fantastic show piece of African beauty is one of the natural wonders of Africa.