Magical Table Mountain

They say the early bird catches the worm (or something to that effect!) and that certainly was the case for the group who set out to tackle India Venster and Platteklip Gorge last Thursday. The picture above shows a sleepy Cape Town greeting the chilly morning - in fact - I was still curled up in bed at home on the other side of this bay!

I was unable to join them last week but these pictures were taken by Irene and her daughter, they clearly spent a great day on the mountain and looking at these, all I can say is WISH  I WAS THERE!

Irene provided some interesting facts regarding the cableway on Table Mountain - here follows the first extract. Thanks Irene!

The history of the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway

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.

Table Mountain’s magnetism has a way of drawing people in, compelling them to reach the summit. But getting to the top was not always the effortless trip it is today. Before the Cableway was established, the only way up Cape Town’s iconic mountain was by foot – a climb undertaken only by adventurous souls. One of these intrepid climbers was the famous Capetonian, Lady Anne Barnard. 

In 1790, upon hearing that no woman had made the climb, she mounted a small expedition, which included three “gentlemen”, several slaves and her personal maid. The group summitted via Platteklip Gorge and held a lavish picnic before descending.

By the late 1870s, several of Cape Town’s more prominent (and possibly less fit) citizens had suggested the introduction of a railway to the top. Plans to build a rack railway were proposed, but implementation was halted by the outbreak of the First Anglo-Boer War in 1880.

More next week - happy hiking until then!