Table Mountain

Cape Town and Table Mountain from the boat.

Cape Town is a pretty amazing port to be stuck in for a month. It was unfortunate (well at least for the ship), but I was glad that I was able to get the chance to go out and explore. One of the first things we did when we got back to land after the first time our boat broke was to take a hike up the famous Table Mountain. It was only a few kilometers away. So a few of us, some who had already done it, decided to take a short cab ride to the base of the mountain. From there it is either a 3 /12 - 4 hour hike, or a 5 minute cable car ride. It was tempting to just say "screw it" and take the cable car up, but it was some like $20 and it was more adventurous to take the hike and get some exercise.

It's about a kilometer from sea level to the top, but from the base where we started it is probably more like 700-800 kilometers and it starts off pretty mellow gradually winding up the side of the mountain and you start to think that this isn't going to be that bad. This will just be a leisurely stroll on a nice afternoon. This gradual increase, however, is short-lived and only last for 30 or 40 minutes. After that it is pretty close to climbing vertical steps for the next 3 hours. We had to take a few brakes to catch our breath, but also to stop and enjoy the view and surroundings of where we were. There where a bunch of nice waterfalls along the way. It was fun to look back and see Cape Town becoming ever so minuscule. We finally arrived at the top to much relief. It was a little disappointing when we go up there due to the hovering cloud cover that lay just atop of Table Mountain, but it was impressive to see how appropriate the name was. The top is extremely flat, which I found fascinating to think how that collision of continental plates would have gone about making such a flat surface as such.

Once at the top we start making our way towards where the cable car comes up and we keep passing all this gofer looking animals all along the way. We notice they weren't very afraid of humans and it turns out that people feed them, so they are used to it. They had a nice little restaurant on top and we all decided to have a little snack and enjoy an ice cold beer on top of Table Mountain before we began the long journey back down, and it's a good thing we did. Just as we finished up at the restaurant the clouds started to clear. It's a pretty amazing view from up there. Everything just seems so insignificant as you look down upon the different cities that encompass Table Mountain. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

Tiny little Cape Town

Cheers,

-J