Table Mountain National Park and Hoerikwaggo Trail
The Hoerikwaggo Trail in the Table Mountain National Park takes in all the natural attractions of the park – beaches and mountains – as well as some city highlights.
The Table Mountain National Park (+27 21 701 8692; www.tmnp.co.za), which protects the entire Cape peninsula, combines spectacular mountain and ocean scenery with unique fauna and flora – more than 2000 plant species make up the Cape Floral Kingdom. You should always take a map on any of the hikes in the park; walk with a group of people and let someone know where you are and when you can be expected back.
There are designated areas for dog walking, mountain biking, rock climbing, hang-gliding and paragliding, picnicking and fishing. Scuba diving and surfing are other activities you can try in the park – in addition to a ride in the famous cable car to the top of Table Mountain, where the views are breathtaking. There are staffed information centres at the cableway station and at Cape Point.
The Hoerikwaggo Trails (+27 (0) 21 422 2816; www.hoerikwaggotrails.co.za) are hiking routes within Table Mountain National Park which take in the Table Mountain chain from the city centre to Cape Point. Comfortable overnight accommodation is provided at the end of a day spent exploring the area’s natural and cultural heritage. The hikes are guided and your kit will be carried for you, leaving you free to enjoy what the Khoisan people called the “Mountain of the Sea”, or “Hoerikwaggo”.
There are hikes of varying duration. The Table Mountain Trail includes a city tour, cable car ride, exploration of the mountain itself and a night in the Overseer’s Cottage on the mountain before ending at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden.
The Orange Kloof Trail takes you from Silvermine Dam through the Cape’s unique fynbos vegetation to an overnight stop at a tented camp. On the Silvermine Trail, you start at Kommetjie and walk along Noordhoek beach then climb Chapman’s Peak spend a night at the Silvermine tented camp and then have a day walking in the fynbos.
The Cape of Good Hope Trail takes in the area around Cape Point.
- Phone: +27 21 465 8515/9
Ratanga Junction
Picture this ... You’re strapped into your seat, hanging under the track of a looping roller coaster that’s hurtling down a twisting track at about 100km/h. Screams fill the air, and you’re not sure you’ll live to savour the memories ... If that sounds like fun to you, then Ratanga Junction’s the place you need to be!
Lion’s Head
Lion’s Head forms part of the Table Mountain range and provides a scenic backdrop to the City of Cape Town.
Great rides
Feel the kiss of the salty wind astraddle a classic car or motorcycle, while taking in the magnificence of Cape Town’s mountain and ocean scenery.
Cycling and mountain biking
The varied topography of Cape Town, from its soaring mountains to long, flat beaches, forested slopes and challenging mountain passes, presents the keen cyclist with an array of routes to choose from.
Paragliding
It has long been a human dream to soar like a bird on lofty thermals – and paragliding comes pretty close. There couldn’t be a better place to experience the thrill of paragliding than high above the beaches of Camps Bay and Clifton, and the Twelve Apostles.
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