Table Mountain Rocks

One of the biggest attractions to this area is the cable car ride up Table Mountain. I heard today that it was Africa’s 2^nd most popular tourist attraction. They didn’t tell me what made number one, but I can tell you that it must be one heck of an attraction to top Table Mountain.

It is not uncommon for the top of the mountain to be shrouded in clouds this time of year, so we were absolutely thrilled when we saw bright blue skies everywhere. We headed downtown right into the heart of Cape Town as soon as we finished our morning feast. I’m getting the hang of this “driving on the left” thing, so I was very comfortable with the trip into the city. Van is also doing a wonderful job piloting the second vehicle.

We parked at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront to catch a Red Line Bus to tour the city. The Red Line is an open-top, double-decker bus system that tours you through the city with prerecorded messages about interesting and historical places. It was really great to have someone describing the buildings and statues while we weaved our way through downtown. You can get on and off the bus as you wish to tour different areas and we stayed on until the cable car stop.

The Table Mountain Cable Car goes straight up the Cape Town side of the mountain. The 2000 foot vertical climb only takes about a minute or two. On the way up, the entire cable car rotates in a circle so there is no fighting for the best spot inside the car. At the summit there is a gift shop and restaurant and several miles of hiking trails that meander through the volcanic rock. And the views are spectacular!

Unfortunately, the internet connection I’m using is not allowing me to upload some pictures to back up my statement, because I really can’t stress the word “spectacular” enough. The pictures probably wouldn’t succeed in communicating how amazing the experience was either, so I shouldn’t be wining about technology. The recording on the bus mentioned that Table Mountain is one of 25 finalists in some new “World’s Most Amazing Natural Features” organization or something like that, and I can tell you that they deserve that recognition. I would have to put today’s experience on par with seeing the Grand Canyon. The views really are that magnificent.

The weather was so perfect today that we could see all the way south to the Cape of Good Hope. I can’t tell you how far we could see, but from that altitude it must have been over 100 miles in any direction. This really is a beautiful place.

To the North we had a very nice view of Robben Island perched in the middle of Table Bay. Robben Island is the prison that caged Nelson Mandela for over 27 years. We’re touring this facility tomorrow and I’m really looking forward to it. If tomorrow is anything like the first few days, I'll have plenty to share with you again.

We capped off our evening with a very nice dinner with Sam's parents at an Italian restaurant near Hampshire House. It's absolutely fantastic to be able to spend some time with them while we're here and they are being very gracious hosts. They've always been proud of where they live and I am starting to understand why. We're really enjoying their city and their company.