Africa Cruise – Cape Town…Table Mountain

By coolgrandparent on June 23, 2025

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We had a full day in Cape Town and then would disembark the following morning. We had booked a tour to kayak with the African penguins near Cape Point, but the weather was abit windy and before we left the ship, we were told that the kayaking was cancelled and there would be a short hike instead. We were given the option of cancelling our tour, but then we would be on our own to plan the day. Travel is all about going with the flow, so we cancelled the tour and headed on shore to find a different option for the day.

At the pier there were several tour options, but we decided to do the Hop On Hop Off Bus that included the Table Mountain tram. The bus had very good commentary…

The Portuguese navigated the area in 1497, but it did not have any European residents until the Dutch established the Cape Town outpost on Robben Island in 1652. It was a way station for sailors on the spice route. A mail system was created, where boots were placed under a tree, one facing North and one Facing South. If a ship’s sailor was going east around the Cape and wanted to send a letter home he would place it in the north facing boot and the next Europe bound ship would pick up the letters. Ships departing Europe would bring letters and place in the south facing boot for sailors sailing west around the Cape toward Europe.

Asian immigrants arrived in 1654 when they were banished to the Cape by the Dutch High Court. Farming began and the Dutch brought slaves from Madagascar to help with the work.

In 1795, during the war between France and England, the Netherlands was invaded by France, and the Prince of Orange escaped to England for protection. Through a series of small battles, British soldiers occupied the Dutch outpost at the Cape in 1806. The British began to install infrastructure and to establish a town, as they saw the Cape as crucial to maintain control of India as well as a supply outpost for the British East India Company. After the war between England and France ended in 1814, England took permanent control of the area and Cape Town became the capital of the new Cape Colony. In 1833, slavery was abolished in the colony and 5500 slaves were freed. The British then wanted to use the Cape Colony as a large penal colony, to send prisoners from England. Robben Island was expanded from a small Dutch jail, for the English prison. The discovery of gold and diamonds changed that plan as the area had an influx of gold seeking immigrants. The city’s population swelled to 171,000 residents by 1901. Robben Island was instead used for local political prisoners. Tensions began to rise between the British residents and the Boer Republic which were the Dutch settlers and after two wars, and a British victory, the Union of South Africa was established in 1910 under British rule. The journey to independence was started, but full independence would not be obtained until 1994.

Even with independence granted from the British, there are still areas that have British names. The Alfred Waterfront Park is named after Prince Alfred, the second son of Queen Victoria. Prince Alfred suggested the building of docks during his visit in 1860.

In 1930, the harbor was dredged and the business district was built on reclaimed land. In 1960 the Business District was completely destroyed by fire, so most of the inner city is new construction. However, there are a few colonial buildings still standing.

Table Mountain is a prominent backdrop to Cape Town. It was given it’s name in 1503 by Antonio de Saldanha a Portuguese admiral, who thought it’s flat top looked like a table top. It is 3477 feet tall and is surrounded by other mountains…Devil’s Peak to the left, Lions Head to the right, and Signal Hill considered the lion’s bum. Further up the coast are the Twelve Apostles.

The slopes of mountain were where the escaped or freed slaves, the undesirables, and refugees lived. Bo-Kaap as it is known is home to a large population of Cape Malays or Cape Muslims They are descendants of slaves from Indonesia who were brought to the area by the Dutch. It is a very vibrant area, rich in tradition and culture

Our bus drove just below Lions Head and Signal Hill, which is a popular spot to climb to watch the sunset. As we climbed it’s slopes have interesting trees and an ever-changing view

The route continues up Kloof Nek which is the saddle area between Table Mountain and Lion’s Head. The road is paved but has numerous switchbacks

At the 2200 foot mark, there is a cable station.

The cable car is very popular and there was about a 45 minute wait. We were glad we were not on a tour, as that would have limited our time on top. We waited in line with the cruise director Elizabeth and her husband.

While standing in line, the views were amazing…the buildings are known as Salt, Pepper, and Mustard for their unpopular design.

The cable car is a Swiss engineered Rotair cable car, which ascends the remaining 1190 feet in 4 minutes and can carry 65 passengers. The original cableway opened in 1929. In 1993, the cableway was closed for renovation and re-opened in 1997, with new cars.

While we waited for our tram…we looked at the interesting information boards. There are 5 major floral regions on the earth, with the Cape Town area being one of those regions.

After boarding the cable car, we had incredible views as the car rotates 360 degrees.

There is a trail that you can hike up or down between the tram stations

As we continued higher we could see the eastern coast of the Cape Town area.

The top of the mountain is a protected and under control of the National Parks board. The machinery is quite impressive

Near the tram station is a display of the area

Table Mountain is home to one of the highest concentrations of native plants and animals in an area of its size. It has 2285 plant species which is greater than the entire UK.

A rock chuck entertained guests are he enjoyed the sunshine

There is a trail that makes a loop around the top of Table Mountain. It was a beautiful day and the view was incredible.

There were numerous information boards placed around the loop

Maclear’s Beacon is a 45 minute hike from the tram station and is the highest point on Table Mountain

We ran into the cruise director and the band leader…Jim’s Conquer the World in honor of our son. We just enjoyed the view.

The entire top of the mountain was amazing

There were many interesting canyons

The loop took us around the top of Table Mountain and we could see the northern view…we could even see Robben Island (the place Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years)

We spent almost 3 hours on top of Table Mountain and then headed back down the tram

Back on the bus we headed to Camp’s Beach.

The area around Camps Beach is very chic and trendy

We could see why Cape Town’s beaches are so famous

The one bad thing is the wind blows very hard and almost every day, as trees showed how the force of the wind, affected their growth.

On the beach, we were a bit more careful around the sand sculpture, after our experience in the Phillipines, no missing wallet this time. And if there is a beach you need to draw a heart!!

We drove by the Green Point Lighthouse, that is interestingly red…lol. It has been operating since 1824 and has the nickname Moaning Minnie, due to it’s foghorn. It’s lamps were originally fueled by sperm whale oil.

Had to get our Cape Town signs…

From the boat we could see the top of the tram

There is a legend about Devil’s Peak, which is to the left of Table Mountain. The devil and a pirate had a smoking contest. The pirate won and the devil who is still angry, covers the area in clouds with his pipe smoke. We thought it was just a legend until we saw it from the ship…super cool.