Most days I’ve been here, there’s been a thick layer of cloud directly over Table Mountain, which the locals refer to as the “table cloth” — clever, eh? Here’s a photo of a typical morning view from my hotel room.
Monday morning I woke up to find the entire cape overcast, but the Tabletop clear. So I hopped into my rental for a quick drive up to the cable car station. This first photo, above, is a view of downtown from the mountain top.
This would be a stunning view down the mountain’s opposite side, but just after high noon the thick cloud started rolling in, completely obscuring the view. Fortunately I had another destination to visit, and my Micra to get me there. Emelda and Marriana, my company for the drive back from Aquila the previous afternoon, had told me about South Africa’s largest mall, Canal Walk in Century City. It was so large, in fact, that I had seen it from the highway driving back into town. So I set out for it again, and got lost for a good half hour. But following the labyrinth of highways and using the mountain as a reference point, I was soon there.
It was a pretty big mall. I wish I could say more, but all the stores were variations of the same brands we have back home. I did muster up to try some biltong for the first time. It seems to be for sale everywhere, and I can best describe it as different kinds of meat jerky. I think I had ostrich. It was awful!
To make matters worse, I left the suburban mall just in time to take part in the afternoon rush hour. It took me almost half an hour to make it from the exit down a 500-metre road to the highway cloverleaf; once on the N1 pointed back towards the core, I was grateful that most cars were heading in the opposite direction.
After dropping off my car at the hotel I took the free shuttle down to the waterfront to go music shopping. After listening to some African Dope at the local CD Wherehouse — clever, eh? — I decided to purchase a Mandoza Greatest Hits album instead — it’s awesome!
Tuesday morning I went for one last drive before returning my rental, and stopped for this windy photo opp in Camps Bay. That’s the Atlantic behind me…
… And here’s the reverse angle. Can you spot the Micra?
And here’s an extreme reverse angle, taken from atop Table Mountain on a sunnier day.
That’s right, I woke up Wednesday morning to a crystal-clear tabletop, so of course I had to venture up one more time. This is the cable car that takes you up.
And here’s photographic proof that I was indeed there. Click on the photo to see where my hotel is.
Andrew Currie 