May 22: Table Mountain, Cape Town

RM and I arrived in Cape Town last night (around midnight) from Nairobi after a connecting flight through Johannesburg. On our list of must-do's in Cape Town was a hike to the top of Table Mountain. The weather was overcast and rainy this morning and was predicted to be the same for the rest of the week. The sky broke magnificently around noon and we quickly made the decision to do our hike this afternoon.

Table Mountain is basically right on top of the city of Cape Town making access to the mountain relatively easy; however what the trail lacks in length, it easily makes up for in steepness. Cape Town sits at sea level and the summit of Table Mountain is about 3,600 feet above. Our cab driver to the summit suggested that we could run it in less than hour. We did not test his theory.

(BN at the top of Table Mountain)

The hike to the top was steep, beautiful and cold. Most of the people we passed on our way up had taken the cable car up and then decided to walk down. We chose the opposite route and even considered walking back down as well (before we started). After two hours of intense (imagine a stair climber on high) almost vertical climbing, we reached the top, took about 1 GB worth of photos then headed for the cable car down.

(Cape Town from the air; Table Mountain in rear; stock photo)

Make sure to check my South Africa photo gallery for more photos of Cape Town and Table Mountain. If you'd like to reach me in South Africa, my local phone number for the next 11 days will be: +27-736-116-538 (formatted for calling from the US).