Hiking up Table Mountain is something everyone can do – by everyone I mean everyone. Well, I guess that doesn’t mean it has to happen on the first try. I was already in Cape Town in South Africa, so that wasn’t the problem; but for some reason hiking up without using the cable car, the third time was the charm. Here I tell you what challenges my Ukrainian friend Dima and I faced on the few hikes up.
THE EXPERIENCE
First attempt climbing Table Mountain
I was in the hostel about to head out when I bumped into Dima from Ukraine who had been living in Italy and had gotten to South Africa on a boat. A beautiful day like this was the perfect time to go up as the sun was shining brightly and the blue sky was beautiful. That day we walked all the way from Long Street to the bottom of Table Mountain. We knew we wanted to hike the Platteklip Gorge trail; but when we arrived, people we met gave us the wrong directions, so we hiked for hours believing we were walking the right way even if we did not move up the mountain – first fail.
We had walked entirely the wrong way, and luckily we decided to turn around. In the end, it was for the better that we turned around because I’m not sure if we actually would have made it to Table Mountain eventually. Almost decided to make our own way up – haha. However, like I said, it was still fun because there was beautiful scenery along the coast with nice beaches and the Lion’s Head. Dima and I still had a pretty good time hiking around the bottom of Table Mountain. It was so much fun and bear in mind that we barely knew each other; but this changed so quickly since we are both a little bit crazy. Ha ha.
Second attempt climbing Table Mountain
After traveling to the Cape of Good Hope two days later, Dima and I were ready for another attempt to hike up Table Mountain: we very determined to make it. This time the weather was very cloudy and we took a taxi up there. We had agreed to a price with the driver before we hopped in; that’s something I would always recommend everywhere you go. However, the taxi driver then wanted to drop us off at the bottom of the mountain – nowhere even near the level of the cable car. We got into a big argument and pushed him to drive us up. He did eventually after stopping a couple of times trying to kick us out. I actually believe he was scared of the height because he was breathing like crazy.
Finally we arrived at the bottom of the mountain where we found the Platteklip Gorge trail and started our hike. The clouds around the mountain just didn’t get any better and since we were not wearing the right clothes, half way up, we decided to turn around as it was getting very windy and started to rain. The people coming down told us that the wind was unbelievable strong and you couldn’t see anything. That day, the cable car wasn’t even running because of the wind. We continued for a little while and then decided to turn around – second fail.
When we got back down the Platteklip Gorge trail, we hitchhiked with a very nice guy. He showed a young kid, who lives in an orphanage, how to drive the car – what a hero !
Third time is a charm
One day later, we made our third attempt on. This time we were packed up with snacks and water, the weather was nice with no clouds, and we were ready to climb Table Mountain. We were still in a very positive mood and the challenge started well when we successfully hitchhiked there – unfortunately, you won’t see in the try of the following video.
We arrived at the bottom of the mountain and again at the Platteklip Gorge. The hike up was very challenging but fun. On the way up, there are some amazing views of Cape Town until you get to the serpentine of the mountain where you are very deep into it.
After a few breaks and around 80 minutes, we finally made it – which felt fucking good. Table Mountain’s height is 1,087 meters.
On the mountain, we wandered around and found a chill place where we had a snack and a drink while enjoying the spectacular views. It absolutely did not matter what time or what weekday it was; that is something I truly love about traveling – it’s living ife to the fullest !
TW CRAZINESS
Remember when I mentioned Dima and said we are crazy. Check out the next photo and decide which one of us is the crazier !?
We had a very nice time on the top of Table Mountain. It feels so good to write about it. We headed back down, which took us around 35/40 minutes. After getting down, we walked for a couple of minutes, but then hitchhiked again. This time it was Johann from Colorado, who was taking his dog for a ride. We were happy to be dropped anywhere really; and he needed to go somewhere else, but since he was not in a rush and we had a nice conversation, he dropped us back at the hostel.
Arriving back at the hostel, I showered and crashed into bed with an amazing feeling of having climbed Table Mountain.
I TRAVEL FOREVER’s VIEW & RECOMMENDATION
Sometimes things don’t go planned whilst traveling around the world. It is important to always stay positive even if visiting a destination doesn’t work with the first attempt. In some cases because of timing, I sometimes had to miss out but hey thats traveling and all the adventures that come with. But Table Mountain in Cape Town should not be missed.
“The third time is a charm!”
#TW
