Table Mountain National Park
Author: Evan Haussmann: Multimedia Images.
Source: Southern Africa’s top 21 parks taken from the April 2010 Issue of Getaway Magazine.
Table Mountain stands guard over a national park extending from Signal Hill to the hook of Cape Point.
Few Camps Bay bathers are aware that they are in fact braving the icy waters within the boundaries of a Unesco World Heritage Site at the foot of a national monument.
There’s way more to Table Mountain National Park than the spectacular 10-minute cable car ride and a five-star buffet at the top. Evan Haussmann peaks beneath the table cloth.
The 1000-square-kilometre marine reserve of Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) stretches in a 10-kilometre band from Mouille Point lighthouse, past world-class beaches, around the Peninsula and Cape Point to Surfer’s Corner in Muizenberg.
The rugged and dramatic land and seascape of TMNP is a nature lover’s playground. You’ll find surfers, wreck divers, climbers and paraglider pilots, as well as mountain bikers and hikers who have almost 700 kilometres of trails to explore.
These meander through the Cape Floral Kingdom, one of only six floral kingdoms in the world. There are 2 285 species of flora in TMNP of which 90 are endemic. Unfortunately, some 300 species are under threat from urbanisation, fires, pollution and alien vegetation, and 30 are already extinct.
Given the unusual mix of reserve and private land, the 25 000-hectare park has its conservation challenges. Tahr and fallow deer have been culled or relocated and, at Cape Point, hyper-intelligent, mischievous chacma baboons have become difficult to control. They regard plastic bags as a food source and have been known to chase screaming visitors until they drop their lunch. Don’t feed them, ever.
At Boulders Beach, the African penguins and curious visitors peer at each other over railings, separated so the humans don’t disturb the colonies which, in the March to September breeding season, number in the thousands.
See the U-tube video of the penguins at Boulders Beach
Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens is a botanist’s and hiker’s Valhalla. This gift from Cecil John Rhodes is also a World Heritage Site. Rare indigenous species have been propagated and preserved here. The massive glass conservatory houses the country’s floral kingdom, from arid to tropical. Don’t miss the medicinal plants section or the cycad amphitheatre as you wander about the 528-hectare paradise.
For hikers, there are two to five-day hiking trails that will take you into parts of the reserve that few people explore. Steve Bolnick of Walking in Africa, an expert guide and nature lover, will tailor-make an adventure on the ‘mountains in the sea’ for your fitness level, timeframe and budget.
Walking in Africa offers ‘Mountains in the sea’ slackpackers trail, a five-day walk taking in the best of TMNP with two, three or four-day versions possible. An introductory offer starting from R4900 a person for this trip (minimum six people booking together) includes all accommodation, luggage and client transfers where necessary, all breakfasts, lunches on the trail and park entry. Accommodation for guests before and after the trail can be arranged.
Contact: Walk in Africa, tel 021 -785-2264, e-mail reservations@walkinafrica.com, web www.walkinafrica.com.
So get off your chair and go take a walk on the Table.
For more on the area
Find out about Cape Town – visit ShowMe Cape Town
For comprehensive information, including the various park entrance times and fees, routes, activities, accommodation booking and availability, visit www.sanparks.org/parks/table_mountain.
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