Glencoe Quarry

The quarry was super-quiet inside and surrounded by sheer rockfaces – there were huge boulders on the ground, patches of neat grass, and a handful of rock climbers practicing their skill quite high up against the rockface. It was quite different to the hiking trail that we’d just been on!

When we arrived this time I discovered a large metal door in my path and this slightly-defaced sign indicating that the quarry had been closed to the public. I also happened to notice a small pathway leading up and around the quarry to a spot that rock climbers (including the one I spotted descending from the pathway) seem still to make use of.

It’s sad that the area had to be restricted. I’m guessing that it could have been closed off because the quarry was so secluded that it may have been dangerous for people to spend time inside. It’s sad, but the unfortunate reality of having that kind of area near on the perimeter of a large city.

Grassy beachfront

Unlike the beaches on this stretch of coastline, the beaches that back on to Table Mountain have nooks that are perfectly sheltered from the wind, so there’s always a spot to sunbathe in peace – even with Cape Town’s infamous wind gusts across the peninsula!

Table Mountain and the New 7 Wonders of Nature

• it is one of the oldest mountains on the planet – around 260 million years old!
• it is the only terrestrial feature on our planet to have a constellation named after it. The Mensa constellation was given the name Mons Mensae (the Latin name for Table Mountain) by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1754.
• as part of the Cape Floral Region it was named a World Heritage Site in 2004 for being one of the smallest and richest of the six floral kingdoms of the world supporting about 8,200 rare and endangered plant species.

The Official New7Wonders of Nature was established to raise awareness of the diversity and beauty of nature in a hope to increase tourism and hence funding to preserve the natural beauty of landmarks like Table Mountain.

The 65-passenger Table Mountain cable car

It’s difficult for me to imagine that a cable car of this size is able to fit 65 people. Once everyone’s inside there’s not a lot of place to move around, but fortunately there’s enough space so that it doesn’t feel as though you’re a sardine in a tin!

Coca-Cola's red-crate robot

I think the robot is pretty awesome, but can you imagine how much the company must be paying the V&A Waterfront to advertise their brand with such a huge 3D billboard?

Did you know that the Coca-Cola company is 125 years old and that soft-drink was originally sold as a medicine?! Isn’t that just crazy?!

Table Mountain

We stopped here, in Vredehoek, at about 10am for our first stop of the day – breakfast at Woodlands Eatery. However, even though the information we found said that they were open from 9am – they appeared not to be open – the door was closed and there was nobody in sight.

Even though we were disappointed, Kerry-Anne heard that Woodlands is a great restaurant, so I’m pretty sure that we’ll be back to give them a try soon enough.

Flat Stanley Lambchop

Although one may imagine this to be a tragedy, it wasn’t all bad because Stanley’s flattened state allowed him to travel the world very economically – in an envelope. Cristin (class mom of her son’s first-grade class in New York) sent Michael M’s flat Stanley for a visit to Cape Town and this photo is from a small outing that we went on to show Stanley Table Mountain at sunset.

On the left, in the distance, is Table Mountain covered with it’s well-known table cloth, a sheet of cloud that often covers the mountain. If you haven’t seen her up close before, click here to see Table Mountain without its cloudy covering.

To the right of Table Mountain is Lion’s Head (so named because from a particular angle it looks somewhat like a lion’s head), and a smaller hill known as Signal Hill.

Dude, where's my bike?

Fortunately (well, unfortunately actually) the bike attached to the Wheel of Excellence wasn’t a prank. Rather, the bike was an advertisement by the wheel’s sponsor, The Cape Epic – an annual MTB race which (this year) started on the 27th of March and ended on the 3rd of April seeing about 1200 entrants complete a 707km journey. And wait for it… wait for it…

Now that’s epic!

The Table Mountain Cable Car

This photo of the cable car reminds me of a couple of years ago when the cable way offered adrenaline junkies the opportunity to bunjee jump from the car. Can you imagine being suspended half way between the upper and lower cable stations, stepping up to the open door, and diving out head first? What a rush hey!?

Table Mountain is competing to be included as one of the New7Wonders of Nature. If you think she’s worthy of being included in the seven then please visit votefortablemountain.com and cast your vote! Thanks.

Devil's Peak

When viewing Table Mountain from it’s post-card perspective, Devil’s Peak (the subject of today’s photo) is the tall pointy mountain located on the left side of Table Mountain. Based on this photo, you may be surprised to find out that even though it doesn’t look that way, at 1000m above sea level, Devil’s Peak is a mere 87 meters shorter than Table Mountain!

Just like Table Mountain, one is able to hike to the top of Devil’s Peak. However, apparently it’s only really safe to hike up the peak from it’s western front – from the saddle between it and Table Mountain… and then only by experienced hikers, not casual walkers.

Cape Town from Table Mountain

How many cities in the world are so perfectly located? Cape Town finds herself on the edge of the large bay known as Table Bay, and she’s cradled by Signal Hill, Lion’s Head, Table Mountain and Devil’s Peak.

Take a moment to click on the photo to see a large version. Where in the world have you seen a city that has a tall flat-top mountain that’s so easily accessable to everyone visiting her? It’s not often that cities have such a prominent structure that rises 1km into the sky and gives visitors a 360° aerial perspective of the city. We’re truely priveledged to live in a city built on the slopes of Table Mountain.
I know that I may sound awfully dramatic (and perhaps a little over-exited), but no matter how many times I’m go up there, I never get tired or blasé about the view from the top. It’s truly and amazing perspective on the city.

Lion's Head and Signal Hill

Kerry-Anne and I once spent a chilly new year’s eve on top of Table Mountain – it really does get pretty cold up there at night. If you ever have the opportunity to go up the mountain at night, I’d highly recommend it. Only, try to get up before the sun sets and bargain on spending about two or three hours up top… with a warm jacket!

The city lights look absolutely beautiful from the top of the mountain at night. Take a look at this 360° photo taken by Lee Casalena from the top of Lion’s Head (which you can see in this photo). Isn’t it awesome? Imagine seeing this in real life!

On top of Table Mountain

If you’ve ever wondered; besides for the small section occupied by the cable station, restaurant and curio shop, this photo more or less represents what the entire top of Table Mountain looks like – well, the flat part at least.

It’s not quite that clear in this photo, but the mountain (especially within the first 100m of the cable station) has many specially layed-out paths made from flat pieces of rock. Can you see them in the middle of this photo?

Camps Bay

Slightly to the right of the view shown in my previous post is this perspective of the up-market suburb of Camps Bay. The houses (and especially the beach-front ones) are worth several million Rands.

After looking more closely at this photo I discovered a couple of interesting things that I’d like to draw your attention to:

1. The streets and homes on the right side of the photo appear to radiate outwards, away from an open field or common. I wonder why that happened.
2. Camps Bay High School is almost perfectly located – you’ll spot it and it’s large green rugby field on the right of the photo. If you click on the photo to zoom in you’ll see it’s beautiful blue swimming pool.
3. Just to the left of Camps Bay beach, a little way off shore, is what appears to be a circular grouping of rocks forming some kind of natural pool out at sea. Has anyone noticed this before? Have you been there?

The Twelve Apostles

This is the view that meets you as you leave Table Mountain’s the upper cable station – the Atlantic ocean with the Twelve Apostles mountain range stretching into the distance. Isn’t it a beautiful view?

I took a similar photo as the sun was setting about two years ago, and based on that experience I’d definitely recommend an early evening trip up the mountain (especially if it’s a warm and windless evening), it’s one of the most beautiful views of the sun setting over the ocean. A word of caution though – always take a warm top or jacket along no matter how warm it seems at the lower cable station – it get’s kinda cool 1KM up in the sky.

View from the cable car

The view from the cable car is quite unlike any other. The feeling of quickly rising up from the lower cable station to this majestic view is incredible.

To the left in the photo is Lion’s Head, with Signal Hill stretching off to the right (just behind the stadium built for the 2010 football world cup) and way way in the distance, right in the middle, you can see the spot in the ocean known as Robben Island.

Have you ever hiked up Table Mountain? Did you know that hikers can get a one-way ticket costing only R45 from the top to the bottom before 09h30? If you’ve ever hiked up and down the mountain then you’ll know that up takes longer, but down is a far less pleasant hike – so I’d say R45 is a real bargain.

In the cable car

While standing in the long queue to the cable car one’s tempted to worry about the length of the queue and how long you may have to wait. Don’t worry though, cable cars depart every 10 to 15 minutes and transport 65 people at a time… so the wait isn’t as long as you may think (although, as stated previously, buy your tickets online to save a little cash and skip the first queue).

The trip to the top of the mountain takes between 4 and 5 minutes – and as long as you secure a standing spot next to a window, don’t worry about exactly where to stand – the cable car’s floor rotates slowly so that everyone get’s a 360° view on the way up.

At Table Mountain's cable station

It’s been very difficult to cull photos from the long list that I wanted to share with you, but I’ve managed to shorten the list down to 10. Over this and the next 9 posts I’ll show you snippets from our trip that may entice you into visiting Cape Town and taking a trip to our table top.

In this post I’ll share a tip with you that will probably save you plenty of time: Don’t wait until you get to the cable station to purchase your ticket! Rather, visit the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway’s website and purchase a ticket online. It’s no more expensive and you’re able to print your barcoded ticket immediately. When you arrive at the lower cable station, skip the long queue of people standing to buy tickets, and head on to one of the officials. Present your ticket, and join the queue that leads to the cable cars. You’ll save heaps of time!

Bridge in the forrest

For those living close to the mountain, it’s the easiest thing to head out onto one of the plentiful footpaths before work. Being so close to nature first-thing in the morning must be one of the best ways to start one’s day.

If you’re planning on visiting Cape Town some day, an insider tip is that you should be sure to book accommodation close to Table Mountain. We have plenty of other great places further away, but I’d recommend staying somewhere close to the mountain on your first visit – it’s an awesome place to stay.

Do you live in an area like this? Is it easy for you to take a morning walk in a forrest with huge trees with little streams?

Boats at the pier

If I’m not mistaken, this boat is very similar to the Gubert Tide, a vessel that I was once asked to take photos of while passing by Table Bay. Perhaps it’s obvious from the design of it’s stern, but this type of boat is often used to carry supplies between harbours and oil rigs. I guess in some way they’re the bakkies (pronounced buck-keys) of the ocean.

A view of Table Mountain

The people on board appeared to be repairing the ship and the noise was possibly a result of them grinding away rust and replacing broken bits with new sheets of metal.

I thought at first that this was an awesome workshop. From this location workmen on the ship have a perfect view of Table Mountain and close-up view of the beautiful Blouberg beaches. However, considering this a little longer led me to decide that it must be a terrible place to work! It may be great when the weather’s good, but surely it’s awful to be stuck aboard this “prison island” when the weather is poor and the seas are rough? Nowhere to escape, nowhere to run, not many places to hide!

Great as it may have been this day, I’m a little surprised to come to the conclusion that I think, on average, I’d still prefer my air conditioned office!

Fun at the beach

Development on Eden on the Bay (map) started a couple of years ago and today the area looks completely different to how it did before. This grassy area stretches out between the long sandy beach and the shopping area called Eden on the Bay. Today you’ll find several lovely restaurants looking out over this lawn, as well as a few shops and fast-food outlets in the small mall.

However lovely Eden on the Bay is, Big Bay is still a terrible place on windy days. However, on days with only a slight breeze (or no wind at all) it’s an awesome place to visit.

Breakwater at Table Bay harbour

The mountain in the background, along with Lion’s Head and Signal Hill to the right unmistakably identifies this breakwater to be part of Table Bay harbour (which is the big harbour where your cruise liner would normally drop you off).

I heard recently, on the radio, that plans are afoot to build a proper arrivals and departures terminal that will cater for tourists arriving on large liners. Currently, visitors normally disembark alongside a commercial (and not very pretty) pier very close to the beautiful Table Bay Hotel – which I have to say is hugely convenient if you plan on bunking in one of the hotel’s 5-star rooms!

Lamppost poster

Did you end up at the DSK Basar? What did you think?

Table Mountain

Two days ago I posted a photo of a sign that is located inside the gondolas of The Wheel of Excellence, found just outside of the V&A Waterfront. This photo of the city was taken as we were reaching the apex of the wheel – isn’t the view just superb?

Speaking of the V&A Waterfront… there’s a competition that (I’m sure you’ll agree)  you have to enter. The prizes range from helicopter flips, to cruises, complimentary dinners and even an overnight stay in a Marina apartment. To win all that you have to do is take a photo and write a short story telling what you love best about the Waterfront. Check out the full list of prizes and submit your entry here.

I’m sure it’s needless to say that if you win the dinner-with-friends or the private movie screenings you’ll be obliged to invite Kerry-Anne and myself along.

Hiking the Pipe Track

The Pipe Track is one of Cape Town’s easiest hikes along the side of Table Mountain. It starts at a convenient spot with plenty of parking, just above the city centre, and follows a leisurely path along the back of the mountain, showing off the splendour of Camps Bay, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Twelve Apostles mountain range.

The path is well-frequented, especially on warm and windless Saturday mornings. I think the best time to walk the route is in the early morning, just as the sun rises over the Boland mountains. Around this time of the year in particular you’ll find that the air is crisp and clear, and that the wind hasn’t yet had time to awaken.

There are generally many people walking the route in the morning if the weather’s good. However, if you decide to take the walk when there aren’t so many folk about, then perhaps you should consider walking in a group of at least four people. It’s a very isolated part of the mountainside and although unlikely, it’s possible that muggers could wait there to help you carry your cameras, wallets and phones.

Take a look at this map of the Pipe Track. This route is about 3.5 kilometres long (one way) and should take you about an hour to complete. So, to be safe, set aside about three hours for this trip. The extra hour will come in handy for taking in the sublime views!

It's not a real fire extinguisher, silly

Don’t you just love this idea? I wish I knew who decided that logs painted like fire extinguishers would get the message across. It’s far more interesting and eye-catching than a sign that few would bother to read anyway.

Recently the weather’s been super-hot in Cape Town, and with the lovely warm winds that we’re having I guess it’s the perfect weather for bush fires to blaze across the mountains. So folks, be careful not to drop bottles (they can act as magnifying glasses and start fires), and be sure not to drop your cigarette butts on the ground – some may argue that they can’t start fires, but why risk it? Right?

One last thing: take a moment to save the Volunteer Wildfire Services hotline number to your phone – 086 110 6417. Give them a call if you spot a fire starting anywhere on or near the mountain.

Table Mountain from a different perspective

I’d almost reached the crest of Kloof Nek Road when I saw (what I think is) an uncommon perspective of Table Mountain. Noticing a rare parking spot on the side of the road, I quickly stopped, crossed over the busy road, and scrambled up to a vantage point, where I took this photo.

The area is perhaps one of the most awesome areas in which to live in Cape Town. My uncle owns a house close by and based on my (infrequent) visits there over the years I have to say that the weather is spectacular. The wind may be howling in the city centre below, yet it’s almost eerily completely absent in this area.

I’m sure that you’ve worked it out already, but just in case you’re not familiar with the mountain, the little spot that you see marking the highest point is in fact the upper cable station.

Clifford, Frank and Table Mountain

Besides the proximity of Table Mountain being fantastic, this area of Cape Town, Vredehoek, has gorgeous views of the city, harbour, and Table Bay. As I’m sure you can imagine, this particular spot in Cape Town is highly sought after, making it impossible for most to afford a home here.

However, there’s another price to pay for living in this area – and that would be the wind. When it’s a beautiful day, it’s awesome, but around this time of the year every now and again the wind howls like a troupe of irate banshees, leaving the only means to a peaceful night’s sleep a comfy pair of earplugs!