I have lived in Cape Town all my life and my bedroom window looked out at the almighty Table Mountain. I could see it as I lay in bed at night.
These days I prefer to be on the mountains than looking at them and every weekend I get out of the house and into the wide open spaces of nature.
This weekend I planned an epic hike. My hiking buddy, Michael, and I decided to hike up Platteklip Gorge which follows the front crack up the face of Table Mountain. From there we wanted to cut across the top of the mountain to Maclears Beacon and then make our way down the back towards the Hely Hutchison dam and eventually down Skeleton Gorge to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.
We met early at 6.30am to leave a car at our finishing point at Kirstenbosch and then made our way to the start on Table Mountain Road. This road leads to the Cable Car Station and the various hiking routes for the mountain. We started at the Devils Peak steps. This is an easier route than starting at the proper Platteklip steps because it gives you a bit of a break from constant uphill.
The first steps were quick and then we cut across to the right on the contour path headed for Platteklip Gorge. We stopped to take some photos at the Silverstream waterfall on the way and took in the view of the city below. We really have a beautiful city and we don’t often get to take it in from this vantage point.
Then we merged onto the Platteklip Gorge path which zigzags up the gorge towards the top of Table Mountain. The steps are relentless and as we climbed up stoney step by step, I had other hikers pass me. I hate steps. And Platteklip Gorge is beautiful, but NASTY.
As the gorge narrows into a passage you know you’re at the top and I stopped to wet my neck with some water seeping from the rocks. For a winter day the weather got very warm and there wasn’t a breath of wind to cool us down.
I guess I probably should have had some breakfast to fuel my body but I’m in a bad a habit of not eating before exercise, especially early in the morning, I find it a real struggle and rather just have a cup of tea and head out the door. But when I reached the top of Table Mountain I was desperate for a good old peanut butter sandwich and whipped it out of my day pack. It was a welcome relief to my struggling body and got me moving for the next stage of our hike.
We followed the stone and boardwalk path along the top of the mountain towards Maclears Beacon which is the highest point in the entire Table Mountain range at 1086m.
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The walk to Maclears was slippery and slidy. Although the sun was shining and the air was warm, the shady parts of the mountain sat like pockets of cold that frosted over the wooden boardwalks and puddles became ice. Luckily I didn’t hurt myself when I fell on the smooth frosty wood. Michael was convinced I’d fall again and wanted to try catch the moment but I refused and walked the thick grasses rather than fall again.
We celebrated reaching the highest point on the mountain by climbing Maclears beacon and having a cup of tea and more snacks while we enjoyed the views of Table Bay and the city below.
I don’t understand hikers that forget to take in the views and have a good chat. It’s all part of the experience.
Packed up, we headed away from beacon further along the back of table mountain. We had a magnificent view of the entire Cape Peninsular from Hout Bay and the Atlantic on the right to False Bay and Simons Town on the left. It’s not often that you get such a crisp perfect day with no wind. Cape Town is known for having 4 seasons in a day and plenty wind. But we were lucky.
This section of the hike has incredible beautiful with magnificent rock formations and geography. The mountain slowly drops through Echo Valley along Smuts track towards the top of Skeleton Gorge where we made a quick visit to the Hely Hutchison dam.
The dam was full to the brim and other visitors who had just finished the climb up Skeleton Gorge we’re enjoying the warm weather and the “beach” of white sand that is so uncharacteristic of being on the mountain. It’s the one thing that you tell folk ascending the gorge, “When you get to the white beach sand, you’re at the top.”
We got to say this a few times as we descended Skeleton Gorge. I’m always shocked by the number of people that think Skeleton Gorge is a good idea for a family hike when they’re obviously not hikers and don’t have any clue about how strenuous it is. The name should be a good indicator.
We took our time making our way down the sandy and muddy steps, the rocky river bed still flowing from the previous weeks rain and then wooden ladders all muddy from other hikers boots. Then the rocky steps took us to the Skeleton Gorge Waterfall. It was beautiful but not flowing as full as our previous visit. We got there late enough to not see any other people for a while.
More snacks and a quick rest for the knees and then our descent continued. We took a contour path from the waterfall across to our right towards Nursery Ravine and then continued until the path split and we cut down towards Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Usually one would buy a ticket at the gate, but because we entered from the mountain we just took a quick walk through the top of the gardens and exited via the Rycroft Gate.
Our legs were jelly after 5 hours on the mountain and I needed a cup of tea and some real food. Our route was pretty epic and not one often taken but it was so worth it!
Here’s our route map and stats for the hike:
If you’re ever in Cape Town and want to hike then give me a shout. I’m always up for an adventure.
All photos my own