Table Mountain to Victoria Falls

We had reserved “fast track” tickets online and paid for them at a booth. There was a long line of visitors waiting to board the Aerial Cableway to the top. But, our tickets allowed us to enter a special door and follow a boardwalk and steps right up to the car. When we arrived, the cable car door opened for us and we entered the car which was fully loaded, mostly with a German tour group. As the car began ascending, a bench that I was partially resting against began moving, or so I thought. Actually, the center of the car was stationary and the outer area slowly rotated as we climbed allowing a 360 degree view by the time we arrived at the top. We had a great view of Cape Town and the coast during the beginning of our ascent but disappointedly, we traveled through clouds for the final third of the ride.

After disembarking at the top, we wandered around in the fog until we could make out a few buildings: shoppes, a restaurant, restrooms, etc.  We waited at a designated area for a free guided tour but after a while concluded that it was cancelled. So, we decided to walk the ridge-top trails on our own. This hike was fascinating despite not being able to observe the spectacular views that we knew were below us. The fog enhanced the other-worldliness of the usual rock formations and plants along the ridge. The alien landscape was occasionally punctuated by beautiful early spring flowers. The visibility varied during our walk but never improved enough to see more than a 100 meters or so down the mountainside. Eventually, we decided to circle back to the buildings. We browsed through the gift store and then waited in a long line for lattes and a seat in a crowded cafe where we enjoyed views of fog and fast wifi service. 

On Top of Table Mountain

Foggy Conditions

Multiple Pate Choices at the Gift Store: Crocodile, Wildebeest, Springbok and Kudu (No Vegan Options)

We finally headed back to the Aerial Cableway and descended to the landing. We had great views as we emerged below the clouds. There, we wandered among other visitors as we enjoyed an elevated view of Cape Town and the coastline below us. We spotted Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent most of his 27 years of imprisonment. (Before coming here, I had read details about this in his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom). 

After sightseeing, an Uber driver took us back to the Commodore Hotel. We waited there in the fancy bar area for about an hour catching up on news before our scheduled Kwathlano driver took us to the airport where we boarded our Kenya Airways flight to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

Our flight was very comfortable with a surprisingly good vegetarian meal with beer. At Victoria Falls International Airport, we were required to purchase a visa to pass through passport control. Double entry visas are $45 each. Because Zimbabwean currency is almost worthless, only U.S. cash was accepted. Fortunately, Jane was carrying enough to cover both of our visas. Once through passport control, I was unsuccessful getting more cash from an ATM machine. We were able to get a taxi ride to our hotel by combining Jane’s last $20 with 200 South African rands that I had.   

We were greeted at Shongwe Lookout by a friendly and informative hostess. A porter escorted us to our room which was located next to that of Fikret and Paula who had arrived earlier in the afternoon. After freshening up, we met them and had dinner together at the hotel’s outdoor dining area. The food and beers were delicious and we had a good time getting together again and catching up on recent experiences. However, Jane and I had a long day and eventually returned to our comfortable air-conditioned bedroom for some well-earned sleep.