Tue Aug 11 2026
Table Mountain
Hiking up Table Mountain via Platteklip Gorge.
A good night’s sleep can work miracles, and that was a good night’s sleep! The weather was in a different league this morning. Cold, windy but blue skies, and perfect for climbing Table Mountain.
We gave the girls the option to climb Lion’s Head then get the cable car up, but everyone agreed, that given the option, we should climb Table Mountain.
We drove to Table Mountain, and couldn’t believe how many people there were. We drove through them all and miraculously found a parking space just after the cable car. We knew that if we parked at the bottom of the trail there was a 1.6km walk, so it seemed sensible to park here and deal with that bit at the start not the end!
After parking, we walked up the road, and found the Platteklip Gorge trail head.
We made our way up some steps, but didn’t realise that this was what we should expect the whole way up. An average of over 30% gradient all the way!
We made our way up. Isla was like a mountain goat. All the leg presses and stair master sessions she had been doing in the gym were paying off. She was loving it! The path was really steep, often requiring scrambling, and hand assistance.
As we got higher, the wind got stronger, and we also spent more time in the shadow of the mountain, resulting in coldness on top of tiredness! I had told people shorts would be fine, but at this point, I was starting to doubt my own advice!
We climbed, and climbed and climbed, and eventually emerged at the top (well, not quite the top - there was still more climbing to get to the top of the cable car).
The views at the top were nothing short of spectacular.
Luckily there was a cafe at the top, and after some really nice, warm and creamy hot chocolates, and plenty of photos, we made our way to the cable car to get back down to where our car was (slightly smug that almost everyone else had also got the cable car up!)
We went back to the apartment then headed to the V&A Waterfront - a place I remembered from my last trip to Cape Town, but it has changed a lot - now it is basically a big shopping mall with various restaurants, but we did see some cool African dance troupes, and perused a few gift shops. We had a drink in a cool bar/restaurant, but we decided that instead of having an over-priced waterfront meal we would head back to Camps Bay to the Codfather, recommended by Ali Hall, to have some seafood.
It was a tough call for the girls (especially Edie) as they were not that keen on fish, but when we got there, the place was cool - freshly caught fish, shellfish and even sushi, and lots of locals eating there -always a good sign!
We selected our fish (it was like choosing fish at a fish market, choosing by look and weight). It was all super fresh. The girls all chose king prawns and calamari, Louise chose Kingfish and sardines, and I chose Yellow tail and scallops. Needless to say, it came to us, cooked to perfection, and absolutely delicious!
The puddings were amazing, with most of us choosing a traditional South African toffee pudding, and Louise choosing creme brulee. All of it was delicious!
Then we headed home and watched some rubbish on TV before bed!