Mel and Neal Volunteer in South Africa: Camps Bay to Table Mountain

The next day we had the car until noon. Taking advantage of having wheels we skipped around to the other side of Table Mountain to Camps Bay. This is a beautiful seaside town facing the Atlantic Ocean. There was a surf competition held in the bay last weekend. Don’t know how that went after seeing the lack of swell the day we were there.

We did a bit of shopping, and bought some crepes from a French man in his little crepe shack. He said that he has travelled the world making crepes, but has returned to Cape Town because he thinks that it is the best place that he has ever been. That says a lot about the city.

Camps Bay

We returned the car at noon, and headed off to Table Mountain for a hike.

We started our hike at around 1:30pm. I was a little sceptical about starting so late because it is a strenuous hike, and is best to do it when it’s not too hot. Nevertheless, it ended up not being as warm as it was the first time I had hiked it with my friends from the programme. Perhaps it was because I wasn’t wearing jeans this time.

Mel and I made it to the top in an hour and a half – half an hour faster than last time I did it. We were blessed with views all around due to the high pressure system in the area; however, it was windy at the top, which worried us because we thought that they might not run the cable car in the winds. We weren’t prepared to hike back down. Fortunately the cable cars were running and we bought tickets and hopped aboard. An hour and a half hike up takes only ten minutes to get back down by cable car. The cable car not only ascends and descends, but spins while it does either, so you can get a 360 degree view of the area which includes the Atlantic Ocean, Lion’s Head and City Bowl.