400~

This is my 400th post, which is pathetic for a blog that I have had for years. I hope to be better this summer and post more, as I will soon lose all my roommates/classmates and be living on my own is Cape Town in a couple of days. It will be bitter sweet as I have enjoyed this course, meeting/getting to know my other classmates, and learning about South Africa's history and current issues. But, I am looking forward to setting a routine, starting my internship, not have everything planned and control. I also want to be able to explore the city on the weekends too!  I thought for this post, that I should share my favorite thing I have done so far, visit the top of Table Mountain. A close second was a trip to the most south-eastern tip of Africa- Cape of Good Hope, which I did last weekend and will be a post for next time.

Table Mountain is the anchor of city and also serves as my backdrop in my stay in the City Bowl/Gardens suburbs of Cape Town. Whenever I am walking, I sometime forget where I am and when I look up, I am always amazed by how beautiful this mountain is and how lucky I am to be here. I used to think that the mountains at Glacier National Park were amazing, but no this mountain is the best, bar none (I have yet to go to Nepal and Mt Kilimanjaro). And the views from the top of the mountain were just breathtaking – you can see Camps Bay, Robben Island, and even the Cape Town Stadium (site of the 2010 FIFA World Cup), along with Signal Hill and Lion’s Head (two other mountains worth hiking/seeing). 

The cable car costs about 195 Rand (approximately $23 US) for both ways. For healthy hikers, you can always buy a one-way ticket, but since my classmates and I were running from class, we rode up and down the mountain.  I am not sure if I will be physically fit to hike it, but maybe...one day.  It was worth the cab ride from campus to the lower cableway station on Tafelberg Road. A few of my classmates and I walked around on the top of the mountain and were able to see some wildlife (Dassies – which look like rodents, but according to my guidebook are the closest living relatives to elephants) and 1400 species of flora that Table Mountain is known for. Then we stayed until sunset and rode the last cable car down of the day to watch as the sky got dark and saw the city begin to glitter from below. It was an excellent way to get the pulse of the city that we have called home for the past week.

Info:

Address: Table Mountain (Nature Reserve), Cape Town, South Africa

Website: http://tablemountain.net/

Information line:+27 (0)21 424 8181