Charity Walk – 17 February 2004

Table Mountain – Cape Town

The sponsored walk up Table Mountain in Cape Town , South Africa , in aid of 'Wish Upon A Star' and the 'Guide Dogs for the Blind' was completed on Tuesday 17 February 2004 .

The assent commenced at 07:15 from Constantia Nek and we went up a route which consisted of a 'man built' step system which was often steep at times and a little difficult underfoot especially with loose rocks, gravel and large stones but the assent was also on, for short distances, a tarmac path. For the first 20 minutes or so I found this climb rather daunting even after doing lots of walking but I managed to get my 'second wind' (nope not from that area of the body!) and was also spurned on by my good lady Pam who was 'sprinting' up (well at my speed it seemed like she was sprinting!) and the close attention of our guides, Ashley and Isobel and their friend Di and a Golden Labrador named 'Carrie'.

The assent took just over 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Once on the top we stopped for breakfast which consisted of a nut 'energy' bar, a couple of sandwiches and an apple washed down with more water! Photographs were taken and we also took this opportunity to put on warmer clothing (2 layers of tops including a fleece, walking jacket and a woolly hat) due to the cloud and sudden severe drop in temperature. Thankfully we had been forewarned and went well prepared for this.

Refreshed we had a walk to the have a look in the museum! Yes a museum on the top of Table Mountain which housed a steam train, steam crane and gave the history of the building of the dams on Table Mountain . We found the museum in the middle of no where and were even more surprised to find that none of our guides had visited this before although they were aware of it's existence. We followed the aqueduct around and navigated the dams in the hope of being able to cross Skeleton Gorge and get to the cable car but due to the cloud on top of the mountain this was a 'non starter' and the bit that I had been dreading..................yes we had to walk back down again! So we retraced our steps and came down via the Jeep Track which winded its way down the mountain and was longer than the steep stepped route but a lot easier on the old legs. However on the last leg of the descent I managed to go 'arse over tit' down a steep slope much to the amusement of everyone especially when I 'bounced' off my back pack and stood up again then slipped the last 10 feet to level ground but thankfully the ground was soft and covered in pine needles which cushioned the blow! The things you do for charity :)

Dave