No Ordinary Walk in the Park

With the hum of vuvezela’s long gone and the football-mad foreigners looking to the next World Cup, there’s no better time than 2011 to discover some of South Africa’s famed natural attractions. And what’s so unique about Cape Town, is that many of the city’s most remarkable mountainous wonders are concentrated in one park; the Table Mountain National Park.

Hair whips against faces and tears stream from squinted eyes, as the wind screams and abates the cliff top promontory. A family of baboons scale the rock face lining the approach road, hoping for food from a tourist ignoring the ‘Do Not Feed’ conservation notices.  An excited shrill swarms in the air as the peak’s platform bears the weight of another day’s sprinkle of the thousands of feet that visit the famous point each year. Tourists clamber around, swallowing mouthfuls of wind, capturing their wide eyes and best angles in their cameras.  And, as the Cape’s south-easterly wind rages on, still the watery eyes look down, for it is hard not to be moved by the view ahead. Where are we? Cape Point -the narrow stretch of land that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean marking the south-western tip of Africa – and a dramatic flaunt of Africa’s dual wrath and beauty.

Beneath the high swells that surge against the 200m high rugged cliff, a bed of rocks sit like sly bastions concealed at the sea floor, and many a boat now lie at the bottom of this treacherous bay. The shells of over 400 known shipwrecks now serve as popular diving sites and submerged sanctuaries for marine life.

It seems appropriate that this area was first named by 15^th Century Portuguese explorers as ‘Cabo Tormentoso’, meaning the ‘Cape of Storms’. It was later renamed by King John II of Portugal to ‘Cabo de Boa Esperanca’meaning, as we know it today, the Cape of Good Hope.

The trials and triumphs of these rough waters colour many Cape folklore tales.  The Cape Point funicular is named after an apparent phantom ship that met its peril in the stormy seas of the Cape and was doomed to sail the seas forever - The Flying Dutchman. 

The Flying Dutchman labours the ascent of the peak at Cape Point where visitors can view the lighthouses at the summit and take in a broad view of the Cape of Good Hope.

Affectionately known as the Mother City by locals, Cape Town, with its myriad of mountains to scale, peaks to cycle, oceans to explore and wild life to observe, is a nature lover’s paradise. It’s no wonder Sir Francis Drake said, on seeing the Cape for the first time in 1580, “This cape is the most stately thing and the fairest cape we saw in the whole circumference of the earth.”

An exploration of South Africa’s natural extremities can certainly start in Cape Town, and will inevitably include the Table Mountain National Park. Hikers from near and far can be seen meandering their way around the 24 thousand hectares of land that makes up the Table Mountain National Park. The reserve is home to an array of wildlife including baboons, ostrich, antelopes, flamingos, wild cats and small animals like lizards, snakes and insects. Not to be overlooked though is the diverse fynbos vegetation, namely the famed Protea flower, and indigenous plants, some of which are endemic to the Cape region. 

After a day’s exploring the mountain chain first hand, one can always take in the remarkable rugged range from a fresh vantage point.

With elbows digging deep into the grass, and salty fingers propping up heads, a blanket and a bag of crisps are all the frills needed to enjoy at sunset at Chapman's Peak. Though, like some enviable and more organised Capetonians, one can always park up next one of the look-out picnic benches and salubriously ordain it with clinking wine glasses and wicker-basket-set crockery. 

Here, pink and orange hues brush across the night sky, illuminating the ocean between Haut Bay and the horizon. With the shadowed mountains circling in for a look and the superfluous commentary of the onlookers softly swooning in the air, it’s a magical way to watch the night close.

Chapman’s Peak drive revels in 9 km of Cape Town’s most spectacular marine coastline and it is well worth joining the trail of tourists and locals who carefully negotiate the cliff curves while sneaking peaks at the prized views below. 

No visit to Cape Town would suffice though without ascending the iconic Table Mountain. As the stately backdrop to the city, Cape Town’s most famous landmark, sits distinctly like a table, and on some days, if the weather deems it, is dressed with a table cloth of languid white cloud.

A 360 degree rotating cable car lifts tourists swiftly to the 1087m tall summit where the view of the city, it’s coastline and mountainous inlands is boastfully breath-taking. Venturing past families carefully posing for album photographs and reflective explorers diarising their thoughts, a stroll of Table Mountain will reveal some of Africa’s native flora and fauna. There are numerous hikes, walks and sleeping tours, for the more adventurous types, all over the Table Mountain National Park.

Ditching the sneakers and donning designer sandals, travellers of any heel at Camp’s Bay can enjoy the sloping ridges of the Table Mountain National Park which cluster together behind Camp’s Bay, forming the impressive 12 Apostles. Nature lovers here can, between sips of cocktails and bites of sushi at the swanky restaurants along the coastline strip, steal peaks of the stoic summits enclosing the bay behind.

With South Africa’s outstanding performance as host of the 2010 Soccer World Cup, the country’s ball of  treasures was kicked into the limelight. As much as soccer sportsmanship took the centre stage, so too did the prowess of South Africa’s nature; in all its wild and rugged beauty. For those who watched with envy as the lucky punters of the World Cup climbed Table Mountain, conquered Cape Point and cocktailed in Camps Bay, now’s your chance to really discover Cape Town; and there won’t be any vuvuzela’s to distract you.  

Some pointers:

Camps Bay - arrive early to find a parking spot

Cape Point, Cape of Good Hope and Table Mountain National Park – 80 Rand per adult per day, approximately 42 AED - (Price until 31 Oct 2011)

Table Mountain – 180 Rand, Cableway return ticket, approximately 95 AED - (Single return adult, price as of 26/01/11)

Chapman’s Peak Drive - 28 Rand toll, approximately 15 AED