Mountainshikes and paragliding

The mountains in Cape Town are right in the city. Here are the three hikes we did, and a paragliding flight.

In short

Pipe Track

Pipe Track is a popular trail on the slope of Table Mountain. It starts at Kloof Nek and runs almost level along the Twelve Apostles ridge above Camps Bay, with ocean views. It’s named after a water pipe from the late 1880s that carried water from Table Mountain to the city. You can still see the pipe along the trail.

People usually combine Pipe Track with a climb to the top. We went without the climb: we just walked along the mountains and back. You can turn around anywhere: the whole trail is about 6 km one way.

From Constantia Nek to the reservoir

On 7 March a friend and I did the loop from Constantia Nek. I really liked it.

First we climbed a small mountain, to the Eagle’s Nest viewpoint. Then we walked along the mountain and climbed to the very top, to the back side of Table Mountain. There’s the De Villiers reservoir, basically a lake, and it’s very beautiful. And at the top there’s a sweet little house where, it seems, you can stay overnight. The views are stunning.

By the track it came to 8.9 km, about 1 hour 50 minutes of moving time and 470 metres of ascent.

Newlands Forest

On 9 March, right after moving, we went to Newlands Forest on the eastern slope of Table Mountain. Entry here is free.

We chose the shorter route, and that was a mistake. The climb turned out to be very steep: we scrambled up for about thirty minutes. But there’s something like a gazebo up there where we rested. We headed back straight away, because it was starting to get dark and we wanted to get home before nightfall. We walked for about 2.5 hours in total.

A short route here means a steep one. And set off so that you’re back before dark.

Safety

SANParks, which manages Table Mountain National Park, advises walking in groups of four or more, not showing valuables and telling someone your route. It’s also worth checking before you set out whether the trails are closed, for example, after fires.

Paragliding from Signal Hill

On 15 March we went paragliding from Signal Hill and landed somewhere in Sea Point. The flight is short, about ten minutes.

It’s fun to fly over the city: Cape Town is very beautiful, and everything around it is beautiful. But I liked Wilderness a little more: the views there are completely different.

They offer video for money here, and you can’t bring your own camera, they say it’s unsafe. There’s usually no problem with that anywhere, and it’s clear why it’s done: so that you buy their footage. I had to buy it. Together with the video, the flight cost about 2,260 rand (≈ $141) per person.