FINALLY! One of the two big landmarks in Cape Town that everyone says you have to see (Robben Island being the other) and I've finally made it up here! On my last full day! That wasn't really the intention, but between cloudy weather and a busy schedule, this is the first day when my schedule actually matched times when the cable cars were running. So of course I had to take advantage and get up there!
Because, yes, it really is a cableway that takes you too the peak! Like James Bond or Where Eagles Dare! Only, you know, with tourists, not spies. It is possible to hike to the peak too, but depending on the trail, I heard estimates of anywhere from 2.5 to 4 hours to climb from the lower cableway station to the peak. Unfortunately, I just didn't have that kind of time, though it would have been quite a hike! Maybe if Zach and I ever make it back here and have some more time to play, we'll take the day and hike it.
This picture is waiting at the base of the cableway, looking up the rails at the two cars running. It really is that steep. To make the ride crazier, once you start moving, the staff member tells you to please not hold on the walls or rails, because the floor will start moving. And it does! It rotates in one full circle across the five-minute ride to the top. I understand why - it lets everyone see both the mountain and bay view so no one's crushed into one side of the car or the other, but it is kinda a crazy feeling!
From the top of Table Mountain, over 1000m above sea level at the highest point, you have some phenomenal views. The City Bowl is the view behind me here, and you can just make out Robben Island sitting off in the bay in the upper left of the photo. The open greenish area to the right of me, right in the midst of the city, is where District 6 was. It's still not all redeveloped, as recent as the relocation was and as ongoing as the legal battles have been. Instead, it has remained just kinda an open area in the midst of the bustling downtown section of Cape Town. And between my shoulder and Robben Island, you can still make out the Stadium, the white ring over near the waterfront. You'd be able to see the Castle too, but I think that's behind my other shoulder from this angle.
The mountain is pretty unique, being flat like it is. It's unique weathering over 6 million years has left it with that unusual shape. A side effect of this shape is what's called the tablecloth. It's when clouds sit on top the mountain, a dense, puffy white layer spilling just a little over the sides of the mountain, looking, well, like a tablecloth! The tablecloth completely covers the plateau at the top of the mountain, so when it's cloudy (as it's been most of this week) they don't run the cablecars.
Another view from the top. This time I'm looking south along the coast, away from the city. It was really a perfect day to be up there - so clear! As pretty as the tablecloth clouds were, draping over the mountain, I'm really glad it cleared up and I could get up here.
The mountain was recently voted one of the 7 New Wonders of the Natural World. Though, the wonders aren't new, of course, but the list is. Besides being old and beautiful, the mountain is unique in another way too. I heard on several tours that the Cape area (of which Table Mountain is a large part) is a unique vegetative area, the Cape Floral Region. There are over 2000 species of plants in the Cape Floral Region, and 1500 on Table Mountain itself (basically, this one mountain has as much unique vegetation as a small country). And nearly 3/4 of these species are unique to this area! The King Protea is one of the species found here, as well as several related species (the King Protea is the South African national flower). In short, the Cape Floral Region is one of the smallest, richest floral areas in the world - it's even been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.
This shape has been one of the most recognizable landmarks in all of South Africa for hundreds of years. It was a landmark for sailors coming into Table Bay, and now the stylized outline is used in Cape Town city emblems (and in the IFLA logo this year!).
And one last view of the mountain. This one was actually taken yesterday as we walked to dinner at the Waterfront. Gorgeous view, isn't it?
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