Higher and Higher
Naipablaak: 09.03.2017
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To fully arrive here and realize what a wonderful country this is, you must go hiking. And really do it! The perfect start to a new hiking season is any other mountain for the somewhat longer relaxed student from the flat student city of Stralsund, except Table Mountain. But Marin apparently saw it differently and organized a group for us last Sunday to take on this special challenge. We met at 7 a.m. and drove to Cape Town by car. It's really amazing that there are still students who get up really early on weekends for a special occasion.
Altogether there were 8 students from different countries and fields of study. So a really good mix. The only difference between the others and me was that they were all extremely athletic and I wasn't. And accordingly, the first few hours of ascent were pure agony. I felt like I had to stop every 20 meters just to get enough air for the next few meters. It was really crazy. However, we had really good hiking weather. It was about 20-24°C and a little cloudy. Also weather in which one does not think about regularly reapplying sunscreen... especially because it also went through the forest for a long way. The "Skeleton Gorge", that's the path we took, is actually super nice. The environment changes every few meters and there is always a new terrain. But all in all, it goes up a lot of steps.
I'm not exactly sure how long the ascent took, and in retrospect it doesn't seem that long to me, but during that time I could hardly believe that it would eventually end. Luckily, the others in the group were incredibly patient with me and always waited and eventually even carried my backpack. After that, things got a lot better because I had taken 3 liters of water with me in good foresight. That was pretty heavy, but drinking in between gave me a new burst of energy.
The interesting thing about Table Mountain is that it's not just one solitary mountain like it often looks in pictures, but a whole range of mountains that stretches from downtown Cape Town to the peninsula and the sea. But that's why you can't really say exactly when you finally get there. It feels like it just keeps getting higher and then a piece along a level, and then even higher. But one super awesome surprise for me was when the path suddenly got sandier and after some searching we really found a small lake right in the middle of Table Mountain. There are even a few more. But this one was so beautiful. And the water was so pleasant. The others had already said as a precaution that we should bring swimwear. And of course we all jumped in... It was wonderful. After all the effort, this cooling off in this crazy environment.
After this incredibly awesome break, we soon continued upwards. Because we were far from our destination. There are a lot of paths you can take, so we kept asking whenever people came towards us where the most beautiful spot was. Of course, we always kept going up and now there were no more trees for protection, but instead we entered low-hanging clouds. It felt like being sprinkled with a fine little shower. Eventually, there was a short lunch break and then it wasn't far anymore. When we finally made it, we were in the middle of the clouds. In every direction, you can only see about 10 meters. That was not so great, of course. But on the way up, we were able to enjoy the amazing wide view in many places. The actual "peak" is a large plain where you could still walk a long way. We went to the edge and enjoyed the view over part of Cape Town and almost to the Cape of Good Hope. It was very impressive. But unfortunately, the clouds moved on and we started the descent. We weren't on the actual plateau. For that, we would have had to walk a lot further into the clouds. We thought we'd save that for another time. There are still so many other paths to get to Table Mountain.
Finally, back down, we were back in the middle of summer. The sun was burning and in the park, which is the only way to get to Table Mountain, there were thousands of people on the meadows and even a concert. But we just wanted to eat something and then go home.
In conclusion, all I can say is that it was super awesome and that I have now been completely infected with the hiking fever. This Saturday, we might go up Stellenbosch Mountain. It's supposed to be very easy. We'll see. Taking my hiking shoes with me was definitely the right idea!
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