Cape Town Table Mountain

Today, the clouds have parted, and Table Mountain is visible for the first time since we arrived in Cape Town. There are two ways to get to the top of Table Mountain- cable car or walking. It would be nice to walk up, but there are reports of muggings on the trail, so we play it safe and book tickets for the afternoon cable car up.

Before we head up, we take a stroll round the downtown area of Cape Town. It's reminiscent of big American cities like New York- grand old banks and art-deco buildings laid out in grids. We make our way over to Long Street, where all the nice bars and restaurants are, and dive into a hipster-y cafe. We have some craft beers (South Africa has a good burgeoning craft-beer scene) and Bobotie- a sort of Shepherd's Pie with eggs instead of potato. It's great.

Later, we head to the cable car. It's full of people, presumably taking the opportunity since the weather is great. It's quite strange seeing so many fellow tourists, as so far we've been a little off the beaten track, and away from the tourist trail. We're quickly reminded about how dreadful tourists can be, as people jostle for the cable car, despite there being enough room for everyone. The cable car ride is great, especially since the car revolves, presenting us with 360 degree panoramas over the city. To enable this, the floor spins whilst the walls stay in place. We're therefore instructed to let go of the handrails, lest they drag us across the room. This is lost on one woman, who insists on holding on, even when the rail has dragged her halfway across the cable car. She's fully stretched out, holding on for dear life (for no reason), pushing a lot of us off balance, and declares "isn't this great??".

At the top, the views are predictably amazing. All of Cape Town is laid before us, sweeping out into the ocean. As the sun sets into the Atlantic, we sit on the rocks and watch as the sky turns burnt orange- perhaps the best sunset in a continent of incredible sunsets.Read more