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Woke up around 9am (the mere two-hour time change from London means no jet-lag!) and left shortly after for Table Mountain.
When we got to Table Mountain National Park we walked past the gondola looking for a route up, but in the end we decided to take the gondola both ways. That turned out to be a good thing as we later found a map and the easy way hiking up took at least an hour and a half... and the hard way took about three hours and looked very hard!
We arrived at the top of Table Mountain around noon and were able to take a tour with a volunteer guide. Pam (the guide) explained that water from the clouds and air collects on Table Mountain and runs down to the surrounding area - which was why settlers planted orchards around the mountain and one of the reasons Cape Town was established nearby.
There were orange-tipped starlings and very wild looking blue orchids. The area around Table Mountain and Cape Point National Parks have more types of flora and fauna than many countries and there's a staggering array of plants.
The tour took about a half hour and afterwards we hiked for about an hour out to McClear's signal. The hike wasn't too strenuous - Table Mountain really is as flat as it looks in pictures!
We stopped frequently for John to take pictures and spent some close-up time with geckos of all sizes. We didn't see any dassies on the hike - the guide said they've disappeared from Table Mountain recently.
For the hike back, we took a different route and got to see another side of the mountain. We stopped for more water once we got back to the main tourist area and then took the gondola back down. The gondola has a rotating floor so everyone gets to see the whole view - although it is a little disconcerting!
After leaving Table Mountain (and tipping our car guard Simba - almost everywhere we parked there was a guy watching over the parking lot in exchange for a few rand) we headed to the V&A Waterfront to get tickets to Robben Island for the next day.
After a quick stop at the hotel to rinse of the Table Mountain dirt and sweat, we headed to a suburb of Cape Town for dinner. John ended up taking some great photos of Table Mountain at sunset and we had sushi at Blow Fish.
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