Although June and I are not actually globe trotters by the strictest sense of the paraphrase, we nevertheless, love visiting lesser publicized tourist spots, often finding them more interesting than the hackneyed ‘honeymooner’s heaven’ or the million dollar French Riviera. And that’s precisely how we found ourselves at Cape Town in South Africa on a chilly winter morning and was at once captivated by the flat-topped mountain overlooking the city that is known as the Table Top Mountain.
June looked at me and I looked at her face and we both knew that climbing up the silly looking mountain was the first priority in our mind. Settling down in a BB joint we made enquiries and were told that there are several trails to go up the mountain for able bodied hikers like us while others could avail of a lovely self-rotating cable car that takes a few minutes to reach the top. Needless to say, we preferred the hike but were confronted by several options.
Winter Ascent Of The Table Top Mountain
Even though there is a direct route from the city side to go up the mountain, it is usually discarded because of the steep cliffs around the summit whereas the trail that follows the Platteklip Gorge going to the top also provides a direct ascent sans the toil. However, if one wants to reach the top and at the same time enjoy the hike, it is better to take longer yet scenic trails that are described below for the benefit of those wishing to explore the area.
One of these longer routes goes via the Back Table, the comparatively lower portion of the main Table Top Mountain. From the southern suburbs area, the Nursery Ravine and Skeleton Gorge trails begin at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. Another route via Skeleton Gorge to Maclear’s Beacon is popularly called Smut’s Track in memory of the keen hiker, Jan Smuts. There is also a Bridle Path or rather a Jeep Track that offers an easier ascent, starting from Constantia Nek and going along the road that was used for servicing the dams on the Back Table. Trails going to the top through the picturesque Table Mountain National Park which encompasses magnificent valleys, bays and beaches as well as the legendary Cape of Good Hope and known as the Hoerikwaggo Trails obviously take longer time to reach the summit.
However, we chose the most popular Kasteelspoort trail on the Atlantic side, leaving the Pipe Track, preferred by elderly walkers.
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