Get off the tourist route on Table Mountain
Christmas and New Year in Cape Town are a hectic time. We have tourists from all over Europe as well as much of the population of Gauteng and KZN down here for the holiday period. Kloof Nek and Table Mountain road become impossibly blocked whilst the queue to get onto the cable car to get to the top of Table Mountain can sometimes mean waiting for over 2 hours. Once on top the views are of course worth every moment of the wait but the crowds detract from the true mountain experience. I have overheard many tourists standing in line for the return cable car journey down the mountain commenting about the spoiled wilderness experience.
The cable car area of Table Mountain can be very crowded
But wait……there is a way to escape the crowds on Table Mountain!! The entire area of Table Mountain is some 57km square. The area that most people who have taken the cable car up the mountain visit is about 500m square. There is therefore a huge area of Table Mountain still in its natural and pristine state. Even just the 1 hours to walk to Maclears Beacon takes you away from the crowds and allows you to experience Table Mountain as a mountain, not just another view spot. Wander a little further on the back of Table Mountain. Take one of the paths up the mountain from Kirstenbosch or Camps Bay and you will seldom see more than 2 or 3 other groups of hikers. The water is pure, the air clean, the sounds of nature refreshing.
Most of Table Mountain is a pristine wilderness area
So if you have the time to explore Table Mountain while you are visiting Cape Town, get away from the crowds and experience the wilderness and wildness that remains on much of the area.
