Table Mountain

I almost didn't go up it... if i knew what iwas going to miss out on i would have been so upset! Table mountain is absolutely spectacular, its a national park and has all sorts of interesting plants and lizards and things. at one point, when i was the only person on the footpath for ages, i actually got stopped by a lizard who was crossing the path to grab a fly. it was really funny, then it just sort of scuttled off.

And the view is phenomenal. When i was up there it was partly clear and partly cloudy which was perfect for me because I wanted to see where the layer of cloud was. There is a gorge sort of at the far end from the cable car where the clouds rise up it so quickly, it looks like its steam coming out of a really big bath tub (the city bowl). One distant memory I have from when I was younger was being in, i think it was Macau in China where we were so high, you could 'grab' the clouds... and thats what i spent my time doing, trying to catch the fluffy clouds. Being up on Table mountain sort of reminded me of that. (not that iwas about to go around grabbing clouds since there aren't any handrails and i didn't feel like falling off the mountain - which by the way is highly plausible.) It's so, so steep, you really don't know just how steep til you get up there. Well. It seems steep for me, maybe its just because i' scared of heights.

the air was really fresh too, it was nice. As you can see from the pictures, every bit of the mountain was stunning. I went up at about 9:30 in the morning and didn't come back down til 2pm and even then, I didn't really want to leave. I could have easily spent the day there. the 85 Rand i paid (as a student, yay!) was worth every little cent. If you come to Cape Town, Table Mountain is a must! I did the long walk just around the table top which was really pleasant. i sort of did it by accident because i didn't really know where i was going then in an hour or so i ended up back where i started so i think i must have done one of the loops. one of the guys at the backpackers said he actually climbed it - he said it took about 2 hours. would have been nice but since i went myself i didn't really feel like getting robbed (apparently people have been getting held up while climbing the mountain alone, which is a shame)

I've sort of come to terms with not being able to make it to Robben Island. . I saw it from table mountain but bookings are full up til Jan 10th!!Apparently if you go down to the waterfront early enough, they sometimes have cancellations but i've heard from other people around here that they've had a 'no cancellations' sign posted up on the dock for a few days now. oh well. i didn't really think i could afford it anyway, i'm kind of running low on money now and really thinking about rent haha. when i was walking around the markets this afternoon one of the people selling stuff asked me to help him pack up... which i did (cos i wasn't really doing anything else), maybe i should have asked for some rand ahahaha.. ahha

so, after all that i got a few souvenirs for you people at home (not all of you!! just family/extended family members so don't get too excited). got Ali's giraffe which is the size of a golf stick so that'll be interesting to carry home. i think i'll strap it to my poster or something but anyway i'll work something out... Only one more day in Cape Town! one more day in Africa. man. what will i do with myself when i get home? I could easily, easily stay in Cape Town. It is such a beautiful city, i can see why a lot of people get stuck here at the start of their trip. And the end. Geez there's a lot of crap you can buy!! Lots and lots of little trinkets around. Anyway, that's about all from me for now. Not long now. Merry Christmas if I don't speak to you before then! I keep forgetting it's Christmas, I was telling Al that some guy said Merry Christmas the other day and i thought he was trying to be funny. Anyway!! Hope you're all having a great holiday season!