Cape Town, Table Mountain

As we prepare for our next adventure starting soon, we’d like to take you to more of the beautiful places in and around Cape Town … trips we’ve enjoyed in the past.

It was always on our list to walk ON TOP of Table Mountain. And we had this opportunity on a day in May 2014 … oh yes, and although the mountain looks flat from afar, it’s definitely not the case when you are on top of the mountain itself!

The plan for this hike:

We left our car at the parking area of Constantia Nek, while one of our friends took us with his car to the lower cable car station of Table Mountain (a trip of about 20 minutes). We then took the cable car to the top of Table Mountain and hiked on top of the mountain down to Constantia Nek again. It’s probably only about 8km, but took us more than 4 hours to complete (with a coffee break in between).

The view over Cape Town harbour from the lower cable car station

The trip with the cable car to the upper car station takes only 5 minutes with breathtaking views over Cape Town, its suburbs and the ocean.

Camps Bay – as seen from the top of Table Mountain
The upper cable car station on top of Table Mountain
Another view of the mountains and ocean before we started our hike

There are plenty of hiking trails on top of Table Mountain. Our trail took us on a relatively easy first part with paved ways, then down into a gorge and up again, passed some of the reservoir dams of Table Mountain and finally a steep downhill to our destination, Kloof Nek.

We found many hikers on the first part of the trail
Still on the paved walkways … with stunning views
Views towards Hout Bay

It was not long before we could see the reservoir dams on top of Table Mountain … there was however a gorge between us and the dams that we first had to climb down and then up!

Two of the reservoir dams on our trail
Another view towards the ocean
One can clearly see our hiking path going down into the valley and then up again towards the reservoir dams

And it is true … no hike on Table Mountain is complete without the sight of the beautiful protea! We were very happy to see this spectacular flower several times during our hike.

A protea bush with the majestic mountains as backdrop
The protea – such a beautiful flower

The uphill, after we’ve spent some time in the valley, was quite steep. We took it slow and could barely wait to see what was waiting for us once we’ve reached the top.

Almost at the top …
Another beautiful view of Hout Bay

We were now going down towards the reservoir dams. It was such a beautiful day – cool and a bit overcast – but perfect weather for a hike on top of Table Mountain.

On our way down towards the reservoir dams – surrounded by lovely smelling fynbos plants
We came from up there …
I’ve enjoyed the day on top of Table Mountain
Another stunning protea
Almost at the reservoir dams
As expected, we saw stunning rock formations

By now, we’ve walked more than half of the route and (I thought) the toughest part of the trail was over … so, we sat down for our treat … a cup of coffee and cappuccino.

We love this time on our hikes – coffee time!
While enjoying our coffee, we noticed these pretty flowers on the rock

Oh, but hang on … no hike in the mountains are complete, if you have not encountered a chain or rope of some sort 😬. Yes, we had to negotiate a way around a big boulder with the help of a chain … do you remember our latest hiking trip at Oorlogskloof? But somehow, I’ve managed (I think my eyes were most of the time closed)!

Going up here … after a quick encounter with a chain …

The hiking path now changed to a paved one again – my jelly legs appreciated this after the chain episode!

A paved pathway taking us to the reservoir dams
Walking on the reservoir’s wall

The landscape now almost changed to a flat section, which made walking easy … and the path was paved and easy to follow.

An almost flat landscape towards the end of our hike

We were now on our way to a next reservoir dam – there are a total of five dams on top of Table Mountain, the first of which was built as early as 1890.

Walking towards the next reservoir dam
It was such a serene environment

Our view now changed and we could see False Bay in front of us. This is a body of water in the Atlantic Ocean between the mountainous Cape Peninsula and the Hottentots Holland Mountains in the extreme south-west.

False Bay with the Hottentots Holland Mountains in the distance

We now had to walk down a VERY steep descent to Constantia Nek … this always brings me to the question: Is it better to walk down or up?

Around that corner, a STEEP descent awaits us
The way DOWN … and the way UP
Looking down on the suburbs of Cape Town towards False Bay
The path winds down to the parking area at Constantia Nek
The paved pathway changed back to a gravel road, while walking through trees with wine farms to the left of the picture
Arriving at the parking area of Constantia Nek

After four wonderful hours on top of Table Mountain, we reached our car again. If you have the time when visiting Cape Town, take a walk on top of Table Mountain – it’s a unique experience with stunning views!

PS: This post is dedicated to my dad, who passed away the next day after we’ve done this hike. Being outdoors, was something he loved very much … I believe he’s still ‘walking’ with us on our hikes ❤️.