This powerful sentinel often instigates a phenomenon that has inspired myths passed down from generation to generation. When weather conditions are right, convection causes clouds to pass over the top of the mountain, like putting a tablecloth on a table.
The views from Hoerikwaggo – (San for ‘sea mountain’), at 3,000 feet above sea level, are as spectacular as those from its summit. Table Mountain is the only land feature to have a constellation named after it by an amazed French astronomer. Mense, which means Mesa, can be seen near Orion, around 12am in mid-July… (just in case you were making other plans).
international tourism icon
The most scenic ten minutes of your life will surely be the ride to the top on the revolving cable car. At the top are free guided tours, strategically placed telescopes, viewing sites and decks, as well as a dining spot guaranteed to inspire unique sunset stories to share with your grandchildren.
Natural reserve
Table Mountain National Park stretches from Cape Point south to Signal Hill in the north and there are only three entry points on the vast plateau where a conservation fee is required to enter: the Cape of Good Hope, Boulders (which is home to to the protected Jackass penguins) and Silvermine Animals are not as lucky as the abundant species of fynbos. The last lion was killed in 1802, leopards barely survived until the 1920s and some species of deer, snakes, turtles and nocturnal carnivores survive. A pair of Himalayan tahrs escaped from a nearby zoo and camped out on the hardest-to-reach mountain crags. They were humanely slaughtered and replaced by a native species of deer known as
tips
Altitude does fascinating things with temperature: take something warm with you no matter how nice the day seems at sea level.