Table Mountain

The wind dropped overnight on schedule and the first day of November turned out to be magnificent weather wise. A few of us walked down to the flower markets at 6.30am and the protea displays were excellent. The King Protea below was quite a beautiful bloom. Our 8am start proved sensible as there were already many people waiting to take advantage of the spectacular view from Table Mountain. The mountain is 1070m a.s.l. 

so there is a commanding view in all directions. The cable car to the top holds 65 people and the floor rotates slowly to give everyone a panoramic view. The capping of rock at the top is sandstone but the varying layers of sedimentary deposits on the way up give the mountain a striking texture. There is only a thin layer of soil in places and this supports Fynbos vegetation described in yesterday's entry.

The view to the south taking in the peninsula put everything into perspective. It was easy to see the route we took to the Cape and the position of False Bay in relation to the Atlantic Ocean. There was still some residual salt in the atmosphere from yesterday's gale so the view north into the sun was not crystal clear as the photo below shows, but once again it put everything into place to see Cape Town as a whole.

We drove north-east to Stellenbosch and it was impossible to miss the abject poverty in which so many people live with kilometres of shanty towns along the route. Electricity and basic sanitation was provided but the quality of the shacks was appalling. The dichotomy of lifestyles couldn't have been more apparent when looking at the university town of Stellenbosch. A very upmarket town with oak lined streets and quaint buildings, many with heritage listing dating back to the mid 1600's and of Dutch Cape architectural style. We had a pleasant sidewalk cafe lunch there before continuing on to Paarl, our stopover place for 2 nights in this wine growing region. It was interesting to stop outside the prison near Wentworth where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 12 months while being prepared for release. Conditions here were much more civilized and he had his own house and attendants while he prepared to govern.

Early impressions of Paarl put it in the same category as Stellenbosch as a well organized wealthy town. The hotel here (Lemoenkloof Guest House) has an eclectic mixture of architecture but the rooms are large and quite modern. They served a gigantic meal tonight so a brisk morning walk will be in order tomorrow. Tomorrow is a day of local sightseeing and wine tasting and a chance to taste the legendary Pinotage.   1/11/2014