Day 17, Cape Town- Pete has been wanting to climb/hike Table Mountain. I’ve been procrastinating , because well..I haven’t been so enthused….I’d like my knee to last the rest of the trip. This mountain is very vertical and it’s estimated to take 2+ hours to get to the top from the trail just north of cable car parking lot. I made the choice of taking the the cable car, while crazy Pete opted to climb. We chose the weekend, when the crowds were thick, because Pete would be safe climbing the mountain. It’s important to hike with other people around, as robberies are a frequent event. Everyone we talked with emphasized the importance of hiking with or near other groups.

This is just the ticketing line! The people on the right are purchasing their tickets and the line on the left had pre-purchased. I quickly went online and pre-purchased a ticket. Felt like the lines at Disneyland!

This is the structure for the two cable cars. Don’t know if you can see the people, but every balcony has a line waiting.

There was a group that had become separated in the long line waiting for the cable cars. The members of the group behind me were motioned forward to join their colleagues. They were pushing and shoving, which knocked me into the young man in front of me, who in turn got a bit cranky. STILL better than climbing! The views from the top were magnificent. Totally worth the waits and crowds.

Cape Town on an incredibly clear day. Winds on top were significant and temperature much lower than in town.

Camps Bay beach, which is on our list of places to visit. This is where all the local nightlife takes place in the summer.

Lions Head Mountain, part of the massive Table Mountain National Park, a World Heritage site. You can just barely see Robben Island (where Mandela was held for 19 years) at the mouth of the harbor.

It took about an hour to get the cable car to the top. Did quite a bit of walking around while waiting for Pete to arrive.  He was about 2 hours on the dot and was totally wasted. Evidently the trail he took was 1 1/2 miles straight up over large stone steps and rocks.  He said the steps were 2 to 3 times as high as a normal step. But, never fear there is a restaurant on top of the mountain. Pete was able to replenish his body with food and drink. Don’t think he’ll be climbing anymore mountains on this trip. Although my mountain climbing honey is talking about hiking up Lions Head. We both cabled back down the mountain and bused home.