Our wonderful mountain has many little interesting facts that it holds within its rock base. Here are some of them:

These days we see Table Mountain floodlit by night and simply take the lighting for granted, but do you know when the mountain was lit up for the very first time? The answer to this is in 1947. The occasion was the Royal visit. Another occasion when the mountain was then lit up once more was during the Van Riebeek Festival in 1952.

Most Capetonians who love their city know that the first man to ascend Table Mountain was the Portuguese navigator and solder Antonio da Saldanha. He accomplished the feat in 1503. This leads to the question of who was the first woman to ascend the mountain and when did this take place? The answer to this is not documented as an individual but as a group of women who were in the company of Governer Simon van der Stel in 1680. To commemorate the event a pile of stones was heaped up on the top of the mountain.

Did you know that the first man to ascend Table Mountain on horseback was General Sir James Craig who accomplished the feat in 1818. Not to be outdone J iA.P.Cartwright also ascended the mountain in 1930 in a rather novel way to record a first in that he got to the top in a Baby Austin motor vehicle. There are photographs available to prove this feat. Let it however  be told that the car had to be lifted almost bodily over some of the bad terrain.

Article submitted by: Selwyn Davidowitz
Email:cptn@mail.com

SATOUR accredited tourguide with an immense passion for Cape Town and its surrounds. To see more about Selwyn's services as a tourguide please click here .