33 Table Mountain

Pictures
Route
1 Windhoek to Joburg
2 Views and gold
3 Kruger bound
4 Elephant and rhino
5 To Olifants
6 To Blyde River
7 Swaziland beckons
8 Ezulwini Valley
9 To Dundee
10 Zulu battlefields
11 To Hluhluwe
12 Hluhluwe & coast
13 to Winterton
14 Wits End
15 The Sphinx
16 Bus day north
17 Kimberley mine
18 Through the Karoo
19 Plettenberg Bay
20 Pootling about
21 Buffalo Bay
22 South of Africa
23 On to wine lands
24 On to Paarl
25 Wine and port
26 Cheetah and eagles
27 Paarl and Stellenbosch
28 Paarl to Cape Town
29 Museum and art
30 Robben Island
31 Cape of Good Hope
32 Around Cape Town
33 Table Mountain
34 Going home

South Africa

Cape Town

Sunday 21 May 2006

Cables disappearing into the clouds covering Table Mountain

But they parted for The Mother of All Views

Colourful roadside craft vendors

Today we woke up to yet another cloudy start for this the last full day of our trip. Fortunately the clouds soon cleared up to reveal bright start to the day making the prospect of making it up to Table Mountain a realistic one. We pottered about for a while in the morning, enjoying the luxury of the space and comfort of our flat before heading out.

Even though the sun was out the top of the mountain was still shrouded in cloud so we were really pleased to see the sign declaring that it was open. We bought our tickets and went to wait for our ascent. The cable car was large enough to take about 60 people at a time and unusually it was round. Even though it wasn’t full there was a bit of gentle jostling for position so that those who wanted it could get a good spot by a window. It all turned out to be for nothing. As the “driver” got on board he welcomed us to the cable car and asked us all to not hold onto the rail around the windows. The reason soon became clear as the floor slowly started to rotate ensuring that everyone benefited from the views all around the car. It’s the first round cable car I have ever been in and the first where the floor moved!

The climb up is pretty steep and soon we could make out below us the path that the more energetic contingent were following to walk their way up to the top. It seems to follow the contour lines and climbs comparatively gently upwards and there were young kids as well as experienced hikers on the trail. Soon though we were heading almost vertically up and our views out and over Cape Town were quickly stolen from us as we entered into the low flying cloud cover we had seen from below.

At the top we had clear and sunny views out over Cape Town which minutes later were snatched away from us and the clouds rolled in. Minutes later the clear views were back again and this was a game we continued to play during our time on the top of the mountain. They tell you on the way up that if you hear the sirens blast out on the top to make your way back as quickly as possible to the car as it means high winds are on their way and the cable car will be closing. We fully anticipated hearing the blast as we wandered around but it was not to be.

Trails have been laid around the top of the mountain and lookouts have information about what you can see around you. The views are amazing and you can see for miles in all directions, clouds allowing! It is a really magical and mystical place to be, a feeling that was probably added to by the ever approaching and retreating cloud cover. In some places you could see the clouds rolling vertically up the side of the mountain spilling out over onto the top. We had brought a “picnic” of leftover wine and cheese with us to say a farewell to Cape Town and to mark the ending of our trip. I’d expected to feel sad at reaching the end of our trip but we have enjoyed and experienced so much that I think we are both ready to head home and see family and friends for a while.

With a few hours left and the sun still shining we decided to head back down to Chapman’s Peak, the coast road further south, so that we could watch the sunset over the bay. The closer we got the cloudier it got and by the time we’d pulled in to our chosen parking spot what had been a clear blue sky was now leaden and grey full of rain clouds. We sat and watched the storm get ever closer while following the progress of small yacht that was sailing hard to reach port before the really bad weather set in. Some hardy people were out surfing in the bay below us but we soon got cold and headed back to the comparative warmth of our flat.

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