South Africa:
Capetown and Table Mountain
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South Africa: Capetown and Table Mountain |
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This is Cape Town and Table Mountain as seen from the ocean. Lonely Planet says the city has the most dramatic urban backdrop in the world! |
| Sometimes clouds roll in and cover the top. The cloud cover is known as the "tablecloth". This phenomenon is most prevalent in winter. |  |
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To the right of table mountain is "Lion's Head". Supposedly it resembles a lion lying down. The small island visible out at sea is Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent the great majority of his time in prison. |
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It is possible to go to the top either by cable car or by climbing. I tried both methods and had much more success with the former. On the left is the cable car. On the right is the view from the upper cable station. |  |
| Below are two views of the city: | |
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The small creature to the left of the little girl is a rock hyrax or "dassie" as it is called in south africa. They are usually very shy and normally run and hide when they see people approach. On Table Mountain however, they are seen all the time and have even learned to beg for food. The little girl was quite surprised when she tried to pet one and got bitten. |
| Strange but true -- The Dassie's closest living relative is the elephant. In fact, before they broke away to form a separate species, their ancestors were actually larger than modern-day elephants. Now they are frequently eaten by birds. |
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