Table Mountain, which overlooks the city of Cape Town in South Africa, is a level plateau that stretches approximately 2 miles from one side to the other. For centuries, reaching the top of the mountain was something of an arduous journey. Thus, in the latter part of the 1870s, it was suggested that a railway line should be built to carry passengers to the summit.
Plans were implemented, however, work ceased at the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer war in 1899.
Not until 1912 was the original plan of implementing a railroad to the top of the mountain reassessed, this time by the Cape Town City Council. It was agreed that a railway that ran through Platteklip gorge would be the most obvious choice, irrespective the staggering cost of £100,000. Nevertheless, the project was placed on hold, this time on account of the First World War.
In 1926, the plan was resurrected, though, as an alternative to a railway, the concept of a cableway was supported by local businessmen. The construction was financed by the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company (TMACC), and the project was officially opened some three years later, in 1929.
Since then, over 17 million people have used the cableway to traverse the slopes of Table Mountain, among them being a number of illustrious visitors to the city, including King George VI and his daughter, Queen Elizabeth. Table Mountain represents the most popular tourist attraction in the city.
Table Mountain National Park
Table Mountain National Park comprises the beautifully scenic peninsula mountain which makes its way from the northerly Signal Hill over to Cape Point in the south. In all, it’s a distance of around 37 miles.
This narrow section of land, together with its array of attractively secluded valleys, beaches, and bays, is encompassed by the chilly waters of the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the more temperate waters of False Bay on the eastern side.
Within its boundaries, the park has two notable landmarks: Table Mountain itself, and the Cape of Good Hope.
The singular land formation that makes up the park is recognised globally by virtue of its richly diverse and unique flora, together with its rugged cliffs, precipitous slopes, and sandy flats. It makes for a truly scenic, cultural, recreational, and historical asset, not only locally but also internationally.
You’d be hard-pressed to find another region in the world that offers the sort of natural beauty and rich bio-diversity, and all within the metropolitan area of a thriving cosmopolitan city.
Things to See and Getting Around the Park
Reaching the summit
To get to the mountain’s summit, take the aerial cableway which affords beautiful vistas over the city and beyond. A large selection of restaurants and curio shops provide services at locales such as Kirstenbosch, Rhodes Memorial, Cape Point, and Table Mountain.
Scenic drives
For a scenic drive, there’s many an alternative. Some of the best routes traverse the following byways:
- Chapman’s Peak Drive
- Boyes Drive
- Ou Kaapse Weg
- Victoria Road
- Simon’s Town to Smitswinkel Bay
- Kommetjie to Scarborough, then on to Cape Point
Picnic spots
Among the numerous designated picnic spots are:
- Signal Hill lookout
- Van Riebeeck Park
- The Glen
- Constantia Nek
- Newlands Forest
- Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens
- Oudekraal
- Soetwater
- Tokai
- Perdekloof
- Miller’s Point
- Buffels Bay
- Bordjiesrif
Ocean life highlights
Each year, particularly so in September, Southern Right Whales make a spectacle for thousands of spectators as they make their way close to the shoreline to mate and calve. There are numerous viewing sites dotted along the scenic coastline.
Boulders Beach plays host to an ever-increasing colony of African penguins.