There are so many interesting facts about Table Mountain. Here are just a few of them.
The first sailor on a Dutch East Indiaman to spot Table Mountain on the horizon was rewarded with ten guilders and 6 bottles of wine.
The first European to climb the mountain was Admiral Antonio de Saldanha. He also named Table Mountain
The first European woman known to have climbed Table Mountain was the wife of Ryklof Van Goens. (the governor general of the Indies)
The English originally named Lions Head “Ye Sugar Loaf” and Devils Peak was called “Herberts Mount”
The first slaves arrived in the Cape in 1667.
The mountain range above Camps Bay was known in Jan Van Riebeecks time as Gevelbergen or Gable Mountain. They were renamed the 12 Apostles by Sir Rufane Donkin when he was acting governor of the Cape in 1820.
A cave in Fountain ravine was home to Joshua Penny for 14 months. An American pressed into service by the British.
Excavation of the Woodhead dam began in 1894 and was finished in 1897.
The Hely Hutchinson dam was opened in 1904.
The Table Mountain National Park, which includes the entire mountain chain from Signal Hill in the North to Cape Point was created in 1998.
The rocks that make up Table Mountain are +/- 600 million years old.
The original San name for the mountain is “Hoerikwaggo” It means mountain of the sea.
The cableway originally opened in 1929.
King George 6th and Queen Elizabeth 2nd have both visited the top of Table Mountain
It is estimated that some 800,000 visit Table Mountain annually.
The highest point on the mountain is Maclears Beacon at 1087m.
