Table Mountain, Cape Town

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This was the ravine used by City fathers in the late 19th Century to bring water down from water sources atop Table Mountain to Cape Town proper. Work took place from 1887 to 1891 to establish the pipeline - Cornish miners from the gold and diamond mines being utilized - and then the reservoirs were added to enable the City to get through the dry summers. You can still see the remains of the cableway supports which brought materials for the dam up from Camps Bay below. A small village was established atop the ravine for workers and a small railway used to run from the cableway over to where the dams were being constructed. One of the huts next to the Hely-Hutchinson Reservoir has been preserved and functions as a museum devoted to this period.

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Table Mountain is actually comprised of several different sections - there is a Western Table, a Back Table, an Eastern Table and there is the Central Table. Most tourists coming up the cable car limit their ambles to the smallish Western Table which is only twenty meters wide (north-to-south) by 600-700 meters long (east-to-west). the Western Table offers grand views and easy trails will introduce you to the unique upland restio fynbos terrain, but venture beyond the crowds over to the Central Table for much more.
The Central Table is separated from the Western Table by the upper end of Platteklip Gorge - up which a well-marked trail ascends steeply from the City Bowl far below. From the Western Table, you drop about thirty meters to the top of the gorge and then re-ascend to the top of the Central Table which is slightly under 2 kilometers long by about a half kilometer wide. The landscape is covered by a mixture of marsh and upland restio fynbos. By walking about one hour east of the Cable station, you will come to the eastern edge of the Central Table where you will find the highest point on Table Mountain - Maclear's Beacon, 1087 meters high - 19 meters higher than the Western Table. Your view to the east, where most Capetonians live, is extensive. Mountain ranges to the east separate the Cape flats and wine regions of Paarl-Stellenbosch from the vast deserts of the Karoo beyond. The main trail leading to Maclear's Beacon is also part of the Hoerikwaggo Hiking Trail (a trail leading from the V/A Waterfront all the way to the end of the Cape of Good Hope) but there is another alternative route which takes you along the northern rim of the Central Table, cliffs falling away 600-700 meters to the City Bowl below. And no crowds.

As with any hike on Table Mountain, do so only with good weather. Wind, fog, rain, mist can all conspire to spoil an otherwise magnificent outing.

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Most visitors to top of Table Mountain use the cable car. Some 880,000 people a year ride up high according to the tram literature. The cost is R60 one way and R120 round trip. The views are World-class from the top of the mountain. There is the requisite curio shop and a place to get quick meals on top, as well as short interpretive trails atop the Western Table - which is only a small portion of the summit area. While the cable car is the easiest means to reach the top, it certainly is not the only road up.

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Several trails wind their way up Table Mountain from various spots around the massif. The most popular route up from the City Bowl is the Platteklip Gorge trail - now a part of the Hoerikwaggo Trail system which runs from the V/A Waterfront to the Cape of Good Hope. The trail takes about 2.5 hours up the Gorge to the summit where the Gorge threatens to separate the Western Table from the larger Central Table.

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We drove back from Bloubergstrand and into the city, we drove past the bautiful Gardens suburb and up towards Table Mountain.
We went there with all intentions of trying to get up Table Mountain.

Turns out, we arrived just in time to see all the action, the road was closed just after we arrived at the car park, there was a bush fire on the mountain.
Soon enough, fire engines were roaring into the car park, helicopters whizzed above dropping water, crowds gathered and we soon saw some of the fires so close on trees.

I have since been told that this happens with regularity, so if you plan to walk in the forest - do so with care.

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Funny that I have listed Table Mountain as the first things to do tip!
It was, in fact the last thing that we saw on the morning we drove out of Cape Town! Why? I hear you say, well Table Mountain is quite often covered by the famous "Table Cloth", this means that this piece of cloud covers the top of the table and so you cant see anything!
Often the cable car up is closed due to strong winds, so you have to time your trip exactly right!

The views from the top are nothing short of spectacular - you can look down the peninula, see the Atlantic and Indian oceans in one go! Look all over the city at the skyscrapers, harbour, residential areas, parks etc etc......the views are amazing it is well worth the trip up there.

Getting up there-
As I said you can take a cable car which is what the majority of people do, the cablecars revolve so no need to try and squeeze yourself into the perfect position!
My friend actually climbed Table Mountain! He is a strong, fit man let me tell you! But this is also a popular thing to do for the more fitter among us!
Yep - I took the cable car!

Watch the sun set over Camps Bay and the twinkling lights of the Mother City. Sit and linger over one of our special cocktails while looking out over the bay and Table Mountain. Up to 120 people can be hosted for cocktail parties. The Cableway Cocktail Bar is situated inside the top station building.

Since the first person laid eyes on Table Mountain, it has exerted its powerful and charismatic pull, enchanting and drawing any and all who fall under its spell. The way to the top has never been easy, and for many centuries only a handful of bold and enterprising people could say that they had climbed it. Now a days it is a lot easier, you just use the Cable Car to get to the top and once there, you use the paved walking routes to explore the top of the Mountain. What can be easier?