Lions Head Sunset

Last week I spent some time in Cape Town attending the annual World Travel Market Africa tourism trade show.  The one afternoon after the show I headed up to Table Mountain Road for a walk just before sunset and could kick myself for leaving my camera at the guesthouse the morning.  My phone had to do and I caught the sun setting between Table Mountain and Lions Head through the wild grasses.

Moments later as the sun disappeared past the mountain towards the horizon

Sunset from Signal Hill

They say that you can't really say you've visited Cape Town if you haven't been up Table Mountain. We've done Table Mountain before and with a family of four it's a bit of an expensive exercise so on our whistle stop visit to the Mother City for the Cape Town Mega event we decided on the next best option.  Signal Hill.  Even better, Signal Hill at sunset.

The one thing we didn't quite think of was that it was a Saturday afternoon and the weather was great so just about half of Cape Town had the same thing in mind.  Traffic up was hectic and parking is limited.  Add to that a coach parked in the middle of the turning point at the top and cars squeezing into every available spot so the clever option was to park on the far side and cut across the top of Signal Hill on foot.  Something which turned out to be a wise move as leaving later on was much quicker from that side. 

The material covered take off area used by the paragliding outfit based up on Signal Hill makes for the ideal viewing site and as the sun started heading towards the horizon over the Atlantic Ocean, people took their places. 

There you have it, a beautiful Cape Town sunset over the sea.  Not many clouds, or more accurately just about nothing at all, meant no beautiful colours and painted skies, but still stunning never the less.  

The options to watch the sun setting over the Atlantic in Cape Town is many but I prefer Signal Hill because of all the added views of Table Mountain and the surrounding city.  But lesson learned.  Don't go on the weekend in peak season.

All the views from Signal Hill

Signal Hill in Cape Town isn't just a great spot to view the sunset from, but it's also has some awesome views which is ideal if you don't have the time or budget to go up Table Mountain.

Green Point with the Cape Town Stadium and Table Bay with Robben Island in the distance on the left

Cape Town Harbour with the V&A Waterfront as well as the City Bowl

Table Mountain, Lion's Head and the Twelve Apostles

Still my Table Mountain

Table Mountain

My Table Mountain

Just because I love that flat mountain so much

Would love to still spend some time exploring her on foot one day and not just look up at her

One day

Cape Town's Noon Gun. An almighty BOOM!

It's a beautiful late morning in the Cape Town City Bowl.  Not much of a breeze blowing and Table Mountain, without a table cloth draped over it, rises up behind the city in all her glory.  Peaceful.  Visitors and locals alike are going about their daily routine, heading between meetings, window shopping, grabbing a quick coffee, sightseeing... Suddenly, BOOM! Pigeons fly up from the pavement, a couple of American tourists duck for cover, a Joburg businessman jerks his head up, a travel blogger from PE nearly drops her camera and a small group of Germans recompose themselves when they realised that nobody else reacted to the sound.  A local sipping his cappuccino at a table on the pavement outside one of the many coffee shops just shake his head and smile.  The Noon Gun gets them every time.

Although I get to visit Cape Town two or three times a year and enjoys going up to Signal Hill for sunset, I haven't been to see the Noon Gun in probably close to a decade and a half.  A visit to the Noon Gun during a quick trip to the Geocaching MEGA in the Mother City meant I didn't just get to go and see the gun fire again, but also show it to my family who made the trip down with me.  

The Noon Gun (which are actually two cannons, the second just in case the first one fails) are situated on the side of Signal Hill overlooking the City Bowl and Sea Point.  About 15 minutes before it is time to fire, a red flag is raised and a member of the SA Navy steps up to prepare the guns for the daily shot.  Everybody stood a bit closer and a quick history lesson followed.

The Noon Gun has been fired since February 1806 and the two original guns are still in use today.  The guns were cast in England in 1794 and brought to the Cape a year later while under British occupation, apparently making the two guns the oldest guns in daily use in the world.  The reasoning behind firing a shot at noon every day (except for Sundays and Public Holidays) was, according to local tradition, to allow ships in port to check the accuracy of their marine chronometers.  Even though a Time Ball was taken into use in 1818, the gun continued to fire daily till this day and many Cape Townian still set their watches to it.  In 1864 they started to trigger the gun remotely from the master clock of the oldest timekeeper in the country, the South African Astronomical Observatory, thanks to the advent of the galvanic telegraph.

Both 18-pounder smoothbore muzzleloaders are loaded daily (six days a week as mentioned previously) with 1,5 kg of gunpowder each.  If the remote trigger on the first gun fails for some reason, then the Cannoneer on duty will quickly change over and fire the second gun manually.  You don't get to see somebody load a cannon with a rammer every day, but you do at the Noon Gun when a rammer gets used to tamp the charge into the muzzle.

With noon approaching and everything in place for the gun to be fired, we were all asked to stand away a short distance.  If you are afraid you'll get too much of a fright because of the sound, then standing behind the guns are best, but for the best view then a side position is the place to be.  Cameras and phones got lined up and suddenly it was time.  The countdown started at 10... 9... 8... 7... a quick check if the camera was focused properly... 6... 5... the lady next to me giggled nervously... 4... 3... it was time... 2... 1... BOOOOOM! Smoke everywhere. Exclamations all over.  Wow, that was slightly louder than most expected.  Quick check to see what my photo looks like and disappointment.  A total blur.  The shock of the BOOM messed with my focus.

A couple of my Geocaching friends did get video clips of the gun going off though and I'm nicking Penny's one to share with you.

Getting to the Noon Gun is quite easy actually.  Just follow the "Noon Gun" signs from the corner of Buitengracht and Bloem Streets up through the Bo-Kaap along Military Road.  Just take it easy going up though as the road is steep and winding and there's always just that one guy who will come flying down from the other direction.

The best part of visiting the Noon Gun?  It is totally FREE!!!

A window on Table Mountain

Two weeks ago we had a whistle stop visit to Cape Town to attend the Geocaching MEGA that takes place somewhere in South Africa only every two years.  We literally drove the 800 km down to Cape Town on the Friday afternoon, attended the MEGA on the Saturday and returned on the Sunday.  One of the events during the day took place on Signal Hill and I just could not pass the opportunity to snap a pic of Drama Princess in the picture frame up there with Table Mountain in the background.

Table Mountain - Pulling the table cloth over

Table Mountain.  Probably the most iconic attraction in South Africa.  Something every visitor to the country wants to visit.  Being in the tourism industry I often get asked about Table Mountain by visitors and one piece of advise I always give is to go to the mountain at the first opportunity you get.  I was guided a tour down the Garden Route to Cape Town and on arrival in Cape Town we noticed the mountain was open.  There was bad weather forecasted and both the driver and I urged the tour leader to change the itinerary so that we could go straight to the mountain.  He didn't want to as we had four days in Cape Town before they flew out and there would be more than enough time.  Needless to say, the left without being able to go up.

The main reason for somebody not being able to visit the mountain is wind and often with the wind comes the table cloth.  There is a legend about the table cloth going back to the early days of the Cape.  It goes that the devil challenged a local called Van Hunks to a smoking contest on the mountain and after days of continuous smoking lost.  It is said that the table cloth appears every time Van Hunks and the devil decide to have a rematch up on Devil's Peak.  On my last visit they had a little puff, but not a full on competition.  Perhaps next time again.  Although it would mean I wouldn't be able to see my mountain.

Table Mountain and the Waterfront - South African tourism icons

Table Mountain and the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town truly are two of South Africa's tourism icons

My Table Mountain

I have a special affiliation with Table Mountain.  If I haven't been to Cape Town for a while I miss it like you miss a loved one.  When I do visit the Mother City I can't take my eyes off her... it... erm... the mountain.  One would swear I'm having an affair with her. So what if I do?  Anyhow, I usually try and visit Table Mountain every time I'm in town, even if its only for a trip to Signal Hill.  I wish I had time to hike up Lion's Head or the table itself while in town or just had the bucks to go up the cable car every time. This last trip I stayed in Tamboerskloof so at least had an early morning walk along Table Mountain Road, but in general Signal Hill it will have to be.

A Table Mountain "selfie"

A quick three day visit to Cape Town for World Travel Market Africa had me slip out the exhibition at lunch time on day 1 to head down to the V&A Waterfront for a quick lunch.  Well, probably more sightseeing that lunch (as if I've never been there but I am the eternal tourist).  I ended up at the #LoveCapeTown selfie frame enjoying the view and before I knew it I was taking pictures for a German couple wanting to  have a picture together.  Then two Dutch ladies... and four from the UK.  One of the UK guys asked if they could take one of me.  Of cause they can.  So here I am doing the Table Mountain selfie frame touristy thing at the V&A Waterfront.

At the top of Kloof Nek

I'm an Eastern Cape boytjie through and through and I have so many wonderful destinations and places to visit right in my backyard, but I do enjoy to venture a little further every now and then and is always open to invitations *wink*.  The Cape will always stay one of my favorite places away from home province and on my last visit I drove over Kloof Nek where I decided to stop and check out the Kloof Nek Cannons.  I snapped this pic of Table Mountain from the side with the Twelve Apostles stretching away to its right.

Delville Wood Memorial and Table Mountain in the late afternoon

 My quick two day visit to Cape Town for the e-Tourism Africa Summit just wet my appetite for a bit of a Cape holiday again.  Not that I know when I'll get the opportunity but I do know that I need some explore time in the city again.  The three things I would really like to do is a tour of the underground tunnels that run through the city bowl, to hike up Table Mountain via Platteklip Gorge and to do the open bus City Sightseeing Tour.  So my Cape Town bucket list is made.  The tunnels I mentioned were used to channel water down to the gardens from the mountain (I hope that is putting it correct) and visitors can now be taken on a guided tour of these tunnels under the city.  I did get to make a whirlwind visit to the gardens themselves - looking for a Geocache, what else? - after the end of the first day of the summit and snapped this late afternoon pic of the Delville Wood Memorial with Table Mountain in the background.

Table Mountain and Waterfront at dusk

Iconic Table Mountain seen at dusk from the equally iconic V&A Waterfront

The upper cable station from Kloof Nek

A bit of an unusual view of the upper cable station on top of Table Mountain seen from near the top of Kloof Nek (unusual unless you live in Cape Town and come along this road often that is)

Tafelberg van oorkant Tafelbaai

Tafelberg is die Moederstad en sekerlik Suid-Afrika se bekendste landmerk. Die berg is 'n UNESCO Wêrelderfenisgebied asook een van die Sewe Natuurwonders van die wêreld.  Dit is ook my berg.  Of altans so voel dit.  Ek het nog nooit in Kaapstad gewoon nie, maar wanneer ek die berg sien dan is dit asof ek huistoe verlang.  Ek groet die berg elke keer as ek in die Kaap aankom en weer as ek vertrek.  Daar is 'n band van een of ander soort tussen ons.  Tafelberg, my berg.  

Twaalf Appostels

Die Tafelbergreeks strek van Tafelberg tot by Kaappunt en het heelwat bekende pieke en landmerke wat deel van die bergreeks uitmaak.  Bo en behalwe Tafelberg self is daar ook Leeukop, Duiwelspiek en Seinheuwel met die Twaalf Appostels wat die mees prominente pieke aan die Atlantiese kant van die Skiereiland is.  Die Twaalf Appostels maak vir die perfekte agtergrond teen die luukse strande van Clifton en Kampsbaai. 

Cape Town Wheel of Excellence

One of the newest attractions in Cape Town is the 40 meter high Wheel of Excellence at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront.  The big wheel has 30 fully-enclosed cabins and the 15 minute ride literally gives one a bird eye view of the Waterfront and surrounding Mother City.  When the Kidz heard that we were going on a big wheel there was a lot of apprehension, specially from Drama Princess who is always a bit weary of the unknown, but once we were inside and going around they absolutely loved the ride. 

Going around you don't really know where to look.  The view is breathtaking with beautiful vistas of the attractions around the Waterfront, the city beyond and Table Mountain in the background.  The other way you can see Table Bay, Robben Island and the beaches along the Bay with the sprawling city all around and the mountains in the distance.  All in all its a WOW! experience and anybody can do it, even granny in her wheelchair; as two of the gondolas are wheelchair friendly. 

The wheel has definatively changed the skyline of the Waterfront area and added an attraction which should not be missed by anybody wanting to see more of Cape Town. 

Our ride on the Wheel of Excellence was courtesy of the V&A Waterfront.

Table Mountain from the V&A Waterfront

The last couple of posts featured visiting Table Mountain and going up by cable car as well as the fabulous panoramic views  and view sites on top of the mountain.  But all the pictures was taken from the mountain itself, so for today's post I wanted to show the view of the actual mountain as seen from the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. 

Enjoying the view on Table Mountain

The view from the top of Table Mountain is magnificent, awesome, stunning, breathtaking, beautiful, blêrrie mooi, unbeatable, c'est magnifique... and so I can go on.  How do you enhance that view even more?  You get a couple of people to sit right on the edge - or just use an angle to make it look like they do - and take a picture of them enjoying that (all the above adjectives all over again) view.  In this case they were just a couple of random people I photographed, but ...

... having Drama Princess on hand I could try my own version as well.
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Our visit up Table Mountain was made possible courtesy of Table Mountain Aerial Cableway

Table Mountain cable car

Perhaps it's only me, but this angle of the cable car approaching the Upper Cable Station on Table Mountain is probably one of the most iconic and recognisable Table Mountain photo opportunities not showing the actual mountain.  I especially like this angle when the low clouds push in from the sea and you only see the top of Lions Head sticking out above it.  Now if I can just get the opportunity to photograph it which isn't the easiest thing to do if you don't actually live in Cape Town.

My visit up Tabel Mountain was made possible courtesy of Table Mountain Aerial Cableway