Exploring Table Mountain

If you’re looking for fun things to do with small children in Cape Town, it’s not hard at all! There are a myriad of experiences right at your doorstep.  My family and I love spending time outdoors and over we decided to take advantage of the lovely autumn weather over the Easter Weekend to explore Table Mountain with three kids under six years old.

The Tablemountain.net website is very useful, providing up-to-date weather information showing the temperature at the top, visibility, cloud cover, and a wind update. It also shows the expected queue waiting times. It’s essential to remember that this often differs from other areas of the city. When we left the West Coast/Blouberg area, it was overcast and misty, but once we got to the city, it felt like a whole different season, sunny, mild, and a perfect day to explore!

We packed snacks, warm jackets (even on a hot sunny day it can get cold at the top), sunscreen, hats, and, of course, a few Easter Eggs (to keep the kids motivated).  As we approached the lower cable-way station, the three girls were ecstatic at the sight of “Rapunzel’s castle” perched on the edge of the flat table top, from where the mountain gets its name from.  I had never heard anyone call it that before, but I have to admit, the cableway station really does look like a fairy-tale castle. The adults soon realized that going up the mountain and exploring the nature of wonder, would be enhanced by experiencing it through the eyes of these young mountain explorers.

The lower cableway station has a Coffee shop with some yummy muffins, so we grabbed a few before heading up.  We then had a short wait to board the cable car, which can easily fit up to 60 people. A five-minute scenic ride takes you to the top of the mountain at 1089 meters above Cape Town. I was surprised at how fast we ascended! The cable car revolves and has open sides (but safe for young ones!)  so that you get the best views of the city, Atlantic seaboard, and the face of the mountain. We even saw some adventurous climbers on our way up. The kids loved the ride and were such brave troopers! (Make sure you get a window front spot to allow small children a good view.)

Table Mountain is part of a National Park and a World Heritage Site, an important part of the Cape Floristic Region and the single richest floristic area in the world. There is a lot of fynbos vegetation on the mountain, with over 1 460 different species of plants. We saw a bunch of dassies (rock hyrax), lizards, insects, and birds too!

There are some stunning short hikes to explore on the top of the mountain, but we decided not to stick to any trail, but rather to let the kids lead the way (while making sure they were safe, of course). They had a blast looking for critters like Rock Hyrax and lizards. The lizards were surprisingly chill and didn’t seem to mind us at all. They were just hanging out, doing some human watching.

The views from the top were stunning – we could see Cape Town, Table Bay, and the surrounding mountains. We enjoyed our picnic while we soaked it all, especially watching some hang gliders getting ready to jump off, a group of climbers rappelling down, and even a family with a grandma in a wheelchair and babies in strollers. It was wonderful to see people of all ages enjoying the mountain.

Our own little explorers had so much fun – we stopped to take some final photos before making our way back down to the cable station. A brilliant, adventurous, educational, and family-bonding experience with memories that will last a long, long time.

If you’re planning a visit, here are some tips:

• Arrive early – not just because the weather is better in the mornings, but also because little feet walk much faster and more willing in the mornings than after lunch.
• Take enough water/drinks and snacks to make more than one picnic stop. The views along the hiking paths are mesmerizing and asks for multiple stops.
  Take one or two backpacks instead of handbags/picnic baskets. You will be walking around quite a bit.
• Wear comfortable shoes, closed shoes for the little feet – be prepared to lose what you take up the mountain (princess crowns, flip flops, toys, etc)
• Always take a warm top/jacket, even if the weather looks warm. The weather on top of the mountain may differ from the bottom and clouds can quickly move in to cover the entire view with a misty layer.
• Let the children lead the way but do push them to explore a little further than they think they can!