The huge flat topped massif in the bay was how mariners
since Vasco da Gama described the entrance to Table Bay which lies as the best
anchorage on the southern tip of Africa. El Cabo de Boa Esperanza, it was
called by that intrepid explorer and wanderer of the oceans and it was in fact
the gateway to the east: the Spice Islands, India and of course the mysterious
lands of Cathay.
The Cape of Good Hope was also called by the more practical
minded sailors who feared for life and limb in its stormy waters as the Cape of
Storms because of the terrible winds that lashed at their wooden ships and
caused them no end of grief.
We often forget the struggles of the ancient seafaring men
who opened up the world and for whom going ‘home’ represented 6-10 months of
sailing and so many never made it back. Sir Francis Drake left England to
circumnavigate the globe with 3 ships and over 400 men with promises of plunder
and riches, and came back with 1 ship and a skeleton crew having lost all
others to storms and sea battles.
So Table Mountain was a very welcome sight to sailors
heading to the Orient in the old days and nowadays it is a most interesting
tourist attraction.
The cable car operates on days when the weather is good and
it is a breathtaking view of Cape town that greets one a few seconds after it
starts. The car itself is round and rotates so everyone gets a full view all
around.
The top has the usual curio shops and restaurant obligatory
to such places but there is also unique wildlife up there that has become quite
used to people. Witness the rock hyrax or dassie as it is called. About as big
as a rabbit they live up here among the rocks and tourists, quite happy to sit
and pose.
There are also the intrepid adventurers who eschew the cable
car and the pathway and prefer to do it the hard way. Climb the massif. Well,
good luck buddy better you than me!
