Table Mountain

Table Mountain

Table Mountain is Cape Town's most prominent feature and a world famous landmark. This majestic mountain is visible from almost everywhere in Cape Town and is often used as a beacon by which to find direction. It's tabular shape results from nearly horizontal layers of sandstone exposed by vigorous wind and water erosion. The distinctive-looking mountain is one of Cape Town’s most recognized landmarks and is a popular tourist attraction that offers hiking, camping, and other activities. Table Mountain has its own cloud cover (the Tablecloth), forming rapidly when the wind is in the southeast and mainly responsible for the lush plateau vegetation. Five mountain reservoirs catch the rainfall brought by northwesterly winds in winter (ranging annually from 60 inches at the summit to 22 inches at the base).

Night View of Table Mountain

The main feature of Table Mountain is the level plateau approximately 3 kilometres  from side to side, edged by impressive cliffs. The plateau, flanked by Devil's Peak to the east and by Lion's Head to the west, forms a dramatic backdrop to Cape Town. This broad sweep of mountainous heights, together with Signal Hill, forms the natural amphitheatre of the City Bowl and Table Bay harbour. The highest point on Table Mountain is towards the eastern end of the plateau and is marked by Maclear's Beacon, a stone cairn built in 1865 by Sir Thomas Maclear for trigonometrical survey. It is 1,086 metres (3,563 ft) above sea level, about 19 metres (62 ft) higher than the cable station at the western end of the plateau.

Table Mountain port

By the late 1870's, several of Cape Towns more prominent (and possibly less fit) citizens had suggested the introduction of a railway line to the top. Plans to implement a proposed rack railway got under way but the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer war put a halt to the plans. By 1912, with a strong desire to gain easy access to the top of Table Mountain, the Cape Town City Council commissioned an engineer to investigate the various options of transport to the top. The engineer, a Mr. H.M. Peter, suggested that a funicular railway running up from Oranjezicht through Platteklip gorge would be the most suitable option. A vote was held with the vast majority of Cape Town's residents voting in favour. This in spite of its cost a staggering (in 1913) 100000 Pounds.

Table Mountain - tablecloth

The Table Mountain project was delayed yet again by war; this time the outbreak of the First World War (1914-1918). The plan was resuscitated in 1926 after a Norwegian engineer, Trygve Stromsoe, presented plans for a cableway to the top of Table Mountain. The plan caught the collective eye of a group of eminent local businessmen. The idea that an easy route up would finally become a reality drew them together, forming the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company (TMACC) to finance the construction. Work began soon afterwards and the project was finished relatively quickly. On the 4th of October 1929, the Mayor of Cape Town, Rev A J S Lewis, headed the official opening ceremony that was attended by over 200 other guests.

Table Mountain

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Since it's opening in 1929, over 16 million people have taken the trip to the top of Table Mountain. The Table Mountain cableway has since become something of a landmark in Cape Town, and has carried some of Cape Town's most illustrious visitors including King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II, as well as Oprah Winfrey, Sting, Stefi Graf, Arnold Schwarzenneger, Magaret Thatcher, Prince Andrew, Micheal Schumacher, Brooke Shields, Micheal Buble, Tina Turner, Jackie Chan, Dolores O'Riordan, Skunk Anansie and Paul Oakenfold. In 1993, Dennis Hennessy, the son of one of the founders of TMACC sold the company. The new directors immediately set about planning an upgrade to the existing Table Mountain infrastructure.

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Bondi Beach

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Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach is a popular beach and the name of the surrounding suburb in Sydney, Australia. Bondi Beach is located 7 kilometres east of the Sydney CBD. 'Bondi' or 'Boondi' is an Aboriginal word meaning water breaking over rocks or noise of water breaking over rocks. The Australian Museum records that Bondi means 'place where a flight of nullas took place'.

Bondi Beach

In 1809, the road builder William Roberts received a grant of land in the area. In 1851, Edward Smith Hall and Francis O'Brien purchased 200 acres (0.81 km2) of the Bondi area that included most of the beach frontage, which was named the "The Bondi Estate." Hall was O'Brien's father-in-law. Between 1855 and 1877 O'Brien purchased his father-in-law's share of the land, renamed the land the "O'Brien Estate," and made the beach and the surrounding land available to the public as a picnic ground and amusement resort. As the beach became increasingly popular, O'Brien threatened to stop public beach access. However, the Municipal Council believed that the Government needed to intervene to make the beach a public reserve. On 9 June 1882, the Bondi Beach became a public beach.

Bondi Beach

The beach is backed by attractive parkland, where you can relax, play games or take a walk. It is also a popular place amongst rollerbladers, skaters and cyclists. There is a fantastic promenade backing the beach, which continues along the coast, around the headland. Heading towards the northern headland you can also see one of Sydney's Aboriginal sites. Within the golf course there are some great Aboriginal rock engravings, giving you an excuse to have a break from the game.

Bondi Beach

On 6 February 1938, 5 people drowned and over 250 people were rescued after a series of large waves struck the beach and pulled people back into the sea, a day that became known as "Black Sunday".

Bondi Beach was a working class suburb throughout most of the twentieth century. Following World War II, Bondi Beach and the Eastern Suburbs became home for Jewish migrants from Poland, Russia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Germany, while a steady stream of Jewish immigration continues into the 21st century mainly from South Africa, Russia and Israel, and the area has a number of synagogues, a kosher butcher and the Hakoah Club.

Surfing at Bondi Beach

There is an underwater shark net shared, during the summer months, with other beaches along the southern part of the coast. Pods of whales and dolphins have been sighted in the bay during the months of migration. Fairy penguins, while uncommon, are sometimes also seen swimming close to shore or amongst surfers in southern line-up.

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De Hoop Nature Reserve

De Hoop Nature Reserve

De Hoop Nature Reserve is a Nature Reserve in the Western Cape of international importance and a fabulous holiday destination, east of Bredasdorp, near the southern tip of Africa approximately 260 km from Cape Town. Just 3 hours drive from Cape Town, and 50 km east of Bredasdorp, this pristine area offers visitors the choice of exploring a pristine coastline, a large vlei, limestone hills covered in rare fynbos, extensive sand dunes and the Potberg mountain range.

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Bontebok National Park

Bontebok

Bontebok National Park is home to more than 300 bontebok, and various other animals such as duiker, zebra and steenbok. Bontebok National Park is situated along the Breede River about 6 km south of Swellendam and 220 km from Cape Town. It is also the rarest antelope species in the world. Recently upgraded day visitor facilities include a rest camp and a new road connecting the original park to 700 ha of new land donated in 2000 by the local municipality. Situated in the southern Cape, with the Breede river flowing through it, the varieties of fauna and flora and fynbos are spectacular.

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