Let's Get Physical

Cape Town has some awesome hiking trails, mainly due to Table Mountain dominating the centre of the city. Due to their location, they're pretty accessible too and perfect to fit in a late afternoon. Even though this was meant to be less of a sightseeing trip we had already dossed quite a bit so far and I was feeling a little guilty for neglecting all of my tourist duties. Climbing a mountain or two felt like the perfect chance to compensate.

After Jummah yesterday we tackled Lion's Head. This was a short yet technically challenging (read: fun and satisfying) climb that involved using our hands to scramble up rocks, ladders and chains. We made it to the top for sunset, and managed to get some awesome views of the cloud covered Table Mountain across the way.

Getting back down was a little more difficult: the sun had disappeared leaving us in twilight and none of us really knew where the path we had just come up on was. Luckily we bumped into some friends who were due to meet us at the top; they graciously led us back down to the surface.

Today we decided to tackle Table Mountain itself. Although it's a taller beast than Lion's Head the trail up was far less challenging, consisting of rock steps more than anything more difficult. Still, the views at the top was worth the two hours or so it took to get up. After taking some time to take it all in, we decided to save time and take the cable car back down.

Two brilliant climbs in as many days left me wondering what it would be like to have such an activity in my own back yard. I like to think I would make use of it regularly; it sure beats running around the streets of Outer London for an hour.