Tag Archives: table mountain

Emptying the Robinson drydock

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Emptying the Robinson drydock
If you'e ever wondered at the purpose of the little tunnel to the bottom right of this photo, wonder no more! That's where the huge pumps that empty the Robinson drydock expel their load to.

I watched the water rushing from that tunnel for quite some time, and when I checked the drydock again, it seemed that the water level was exactly where I'd last observed it. :O

Not the Table Mountain I remember

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Not the Table Mountain I remember
It's been dreary and wintry for a while now, and I haven't been keeping an eye on that Table Mountain thing we have here in Cape Town, but can it really have changed this much?! I'm sure it used to be bigger than that. :-/

Clouds and the City Bowl

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Clouds and the City Bowl
I took this photo from Signal Hill Road that winds along the side of Lion's Head to the parking area on Signal Hill.

The area straight ahead and to the right in this photo (on the slopes of Table Mountain and Devil's Peak) are the residential areas of Vredehoek, Gardends, and Oranjezicht. While they're beautifully located, with exquisit views of the city and mountians, those specific residential areas are known to be extremely (like as in very very extremely) windy.

I wouldn't mind living there for a couple of months, but I'm not sure that I'd enjoy settling down there.

How Table Mountain’s tablecloth works

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Table Mountain's tablecloth
If you've ever been in Cape Town and taken a long look at the tablecloth-like clouds covering the mountain, perhaps you've wondered how it is that there could be no other clouds in the sky, except for the sheet covering our flat-top mountain. Perhaps you've also been as transfixed as I've been, watching as the clouds roll down the side of the mountain, disappearing into nothingness.

What happens is that a warm south-easterly wind blows up the back of the Table Mountain range, until it reaches the summit (which is about 1000m above sea level) where it quickly cools down as it meets the cold air covering the top of the mountain. Because cool air isn't able to hold as much moisture, condensation and a thick cloud results.

The air continues to move towards Cape Town and Table Bay, and as it falls off the edge of the mountain it descends, meeting warmer air that's able to absorb the cloud's water vapour, making the cloud disappear, literally into thin air. :)

Oudekraal nature reserve on Table Mountain

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Oudekraal and Hout Bay
I took this photo from the Constantia side of Table Mountain. That in the distance is the Lion's Head look-alike that you may have recalled seeing on your drive though the Hout Bay area. Hout Bay's to the left, and Llandudno's to the right - with the vast Oudekraal nature reserve in the valley below. Pretty awesome, don't you think?

You can access this spot from where the Constantia Nek hiking trail starts - right where Rhodes Drive meets the circle before the descent to Hout Bay.

A table top mountain

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A table top mountain
It would be super-weird if we one day awoke to a flat landscape, without the iconic Table Mountain to greet us. The mountain's like a huge compass that Capetonians, and visitors I guess, use to orientate themselves.

And this get's me thinking - I wonder if the reason that traffic's a complete disaster in cloudy-rainy weather isn't perhaps because we lose sight of the mountain? ;)

Clear skies and Table Bay harbour

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Clear skies and Table Bay harbour
After a week or more of grey skies and rain the sun's come out and it's been perfect weather to explore Cape Town, and in my case wander around at the V&A Waterfront.

I love the clear skies, windless days, and warm sun rays at this time of the year - the only thing that I really don't like about sunny winter days like this is that it gets intensely cold really early in the evening.

This is Africa and I'm not made for the cold. :-/

A seaside reflection at Blouberg

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A seaside reflection at Blouberg
Don't you love how the clouds and sky reflect on the sand as the water draws back from the beach?

Beaches like those at Blouberg are especially gifted with iconic views of Table Mountain, white sand, and just enough shells to keep things interesting. This is a lovely place to be - when it's warm and the wind isn't blowing!

An idyllic view of Table Mountain

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An idyllic view of Table Mountain
i·dyl·lic
Like an idyll; extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque: "an idyllic setting".

I met a few friends for a photo walk near the Blue Peter hotel in Tableview. Well, this particular evening was less of a "photo walk", and more of a "photo stand on the beach and gawk at the spectacular views". But then, I guess you can understand why. :)

I took far too many photos of Table Mountain on Sunday evening. I'll share this one, and perhaps one more if someone asks.