Admittedly I am a bit behind in the blogging…distracted by the beauty of this country combined with the spotty internet service….  Sufficed to say I did not fall off the map, nor Table Mountain.  Table Mountain, arguably the most recognizable of Cape Towns geologic features, is also one of its greatest tourist attractions.

A charming cable car ascends the 3500 feet to the top of the mountain.  As you rise, the rotating floor provides you with breathtaking views of Cape Town and the surrounding countryside.  The more adventurous can opt to hike to the top of the mountain and abseil down if they wish.

Our visit was a beautiful sunny day with very little wind – which can be rare at the top of Table Mountain.  But windy or not be sure to bring your sunscreen and a hat if you are of the fair skinned variety – as with all of South Africa the sun is very strong. Once we arrived at the top I was impressed by the views, the amount of tourists and the fabulous looking food they served at the cafe (we only got an ice-cream).  I was also perplexed by the amount of parents who thought it was a good idea to hang their children over the edge of the railing in order to get a better view – as if being able to see miles in every direction behind the safety of the railing was just not good enough and the extra 2 feet of arms length really was required for the children to see better.

We wandered the trails along the top of the mountain, stopping occasionally to soak in the majesty of it all.  The trails can go for quite a distance and you could spend several hours just hiking along the top.  I would recommend packing a picnic lunch, finding a secluded spot and stealing a romantic moment.

While in Cape Town you may notice the phenomenon of the “table cloth” that occasionally adorns Table Mountain.  Its when the clouds form a thin layer right over the top of the mountain and part way down the side.  I learned during this visit that this is not a random freak of nature but rather a smoking contest between the Devil and the pirate Van Hunks – as they puff away at their pipes the table cloth appears.

We had an amazing adventure of Kloofing and camping arranged for the weekend of April 15th, but fate has a funny way of changing plans.  We spent the night at the Uva Mira vineyard with a scheduled departure time of 12:30 pm on Saturday to begin our adventure.  Well, we had an adventure alright.  Noticing the smoke coming from the other side of the valley and the flames on top of the mountain we figured it was best to stick around Uva Mira to see if we could be of any help.  As it turns out we spent the day helping to evacuate the main house and then Derrick stayed to help fight the fire.  The fires burned on and around Uva Mira until Monday night.  Luckily there was only one injury, and all the buildings were saved.  It was my first fire and I was impressed how the surrounding farms and vineyards all called to offer assistance and men.  It was inspiring to see the groups of men arrive ready, willing and able to help keep the fire at bay.  The fire department in South Africa is nothing like that in America.  They have more of a hands-off policy than a hands-on policy.  Had it not been for the Uva Mira staff the place would have been lost.  Of course Derrick had a vested interested in helping to save the vineyard as it is his ancestral home, but had it not been for he and the team of men he led, the main house would have gone up in flames.  My many thanks to everyone who helped with the evacuation and fire fighting.  It is certainly an experience I will never forget but possibly an adventure I could have done without.

For more information on the Stellenbosch/Helderberg fire click on the link.

Diamond Fact:  Well this one is a bit off the norm, but is certainly apropos. . . The Fire Diamond is a four colored diamond that appears on the sides of building and tanks in the United States.  These signs indicate the level of chemical hazard located within the container or building. They are made up of the colors blue, red, yellow and white.  The numbers superimposed over the colors indicate the severity of the danger.

April is diamond month and I thought to myself what better way to celebrate then with a trip to South Africa.  Granted I am staying and exploring around Cape Town where there are no diamond mines – but lets face it Cape Town has just oodles more to do.  After spending a couple of days recovering from jet lag and visiting with friends, today started with a nice little abseiling adventure in Paarl.  The view from Paarl rock was stunning – the whole valley opened below us as we descended the 45 meters to the bottom.  It was a bit of a test before our big Kloofing/abseiling adventure weekend.  More details to come…

Diamond Fact: When diamonds were first discovered in South Africa the world believed that it was only a source for yellow diamonds and did not necessarily consider it a significant find.  It was not until the discovery of the Excelsior diamond, 971 3/4 ct  “white” diamond, that the world began to take notice of South Africa as a viable and then significant resource for fine goods.