Table Mountain: New Wonder of Nature

Table Mountain has been elected as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature in the first tally of global votes (along with the Amazon jungle, Halong Bay in Vietnam, Iguaçu Falls on Brazil-Argentina border, Jeju Island in South Korea, Komodo in Indonesia, Puerto Princesa Underground River in the Philippines). Not that I ever thought of the mountain as anything less than a wonder of nature, but it’s nice to know there are many out there, from all over the world, who feel the same.

The results are provisional and all votes will now be validated and independently verified. Once this process is completed (early 2012), the New7Wonders campaign will work with the confirmed winners to organise the inauguration events. It may happen that one or more of the provisional winners announced on the 11 November drop out from the list during the validation process. Chances of Table Mountain dropping out? Around 1%, according to an informed source. “It’s pretty much confirmed that we’ll stay in,” says the source.

The man behind the New7Wonders campaign is adventurer and filmmaker, Bernard Weber. The New 7 Wonders of Nature is the group’s second campaign. It began in 2007 when more than 440 locations were nominated in more than 220 countries through a global voting process. The top 77 choices were short-listed, and with the help of a panel of experts, further narrowed to 28 candidates and announced in July 2009, when the voting for finalists began.

Says Weber, "So many breathtakingly beautiful, natural places are still quite unknown to many, from waterfalls to fjords, rainforests to mountain peaks, freshwater lakes to volcanoes. We are discovering together the incredible beauty and variety of our planet."

In a statement announcing the provisional results, Weber says: "When the New 7 Wonders of Nature are confirmed they will join the man-made New 7 Wonders of the World in becoming part of global memory for humankind forever."

The movement began when Weber had an idea to revive the Seven Wonders of the World, much like Pierre de Coubertin revived another ancient Greek concept, the Olympic Games, in 1896 with the introduction of the modern Olympic Games.

The Seven Wonders of the World, selected by Philon of Byzantium in about 200 B.C., included the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the Pyramids of Giza, and served as a travel guide for fellow Athenians. The key difference, noted on the N7W website, is that the New 7 Wonders of the World were not chosen by one man, but by millions of people all over the world.

Weber’s next campaign? The New 7 Wonder Cities, where we’ll have the chance of voting for our 7 favourite cities.  Now how cheeky it would be if Cape Town makes it to the top 7 in that campaign.

Table Mountain’s new status as one of the 7 wonders of nature is no doubt a boon to the depressed tourism industry, as it will bring thousands of additional tourists to our shores. The downside is the increased environmental impact on the mountain. South African National Parks sure have their work cut out for them. To all trail-runners, hikers, dog-walkers, mountain-bikers and climbers on Table Mountain, let’s help where we can by respecting the mountain more than ever and picking up any litter we come across.

With its new triple status as a World natural Wonder, World Heritage Site and National Park, hiking Table Mountain is now more exciting than ever.

Singular sightings on Sugarloaf

One hardly expects to come across animals on the well-trodden slopes of Sugarloaf (Lion's Head circa early 1600s). Scarab beetles, girdled lizards and red-winged starlings are the usual suspects, with a rock kestrel putting in an occasional appearance. Great was my surprise then when, on a recent climbing foray with my favorite miscreant and fellow climber, I startled a 1,20-meter rhombic skaapsteker (snake). Sleek and patterned, it packs about as much venom as your garden-variety bee. Then, 3 hours later on the descent, trudging down the main path at dusk, having done justice to a route called Sunset Crag by topping out at sunset, we watched in mute wonder as a spotted eagle owl swooped down on an unidentified prey in the path a few meters ahead of us. It peered at us for a full 5 seconds before flying off. What a privilege. You never know what you might find when hiking Table Mountain, but one thing is sure: you never come away disappointed.

Snakes and Ladders

No, not the board game – real snakes and ladders.

I came across a Berg Adder the other day meters after negotiating one of the steel ladders on Table Mountain, making me feel like I was playing a game of real-life snakes and ladders. So, with no common ground other than their significance with regards to foot placement – the one you want to step on, the other you don’t – let’s take a closer look at what a hiker on Table Mountain can expect in the way of Adders and ladders.

First, Adders. (Snakes on Table Mountain in general will be dealt with at length in a future blog – watch this space). Two Adder species occur on Table Mountain: the Berg Adder and the Puff Adder. Both have scaly, plump and boldly-patterned bodies with flat, triangular heads. And both are sluggish and strikes readily. Berg Adders reach lengths of between 30 and 45 cm, while Puff Adders grow to 90 cm.

So what venom do they pack? Berg Adders are considered mildly venomous, but no anti-venom exists, so a bite might confine you to a hospital bed for months. Also, the venom is both cytotoxic (cell-destroying, attacking tissue and blood cells) and neurotoxic (attacking central nervous system, causing respiratory failure), but fortunately lacks the potency to kill a human.

The venom of the Puff Adder is mostly cytotoxic and apart from causing excruciating pain, can lead to the loss of a digit or limb. Fatalities from a Puff Adder bite are rare, but do occasionally occur. Colloquially referred to as a “Puffy”, it thoroughly deserves its notoriety in that it is responsible for more fatalities than any other African snake. This can be ascribed to a combination of factors: prevalence, wide distribution, aggression, potent venom, long fangs, habit of basking in footpaths and its sluggishness (most snakes slither away when sensing danger; the indolent Puffy holds its ground).  

So what are your chances of coming across an Adder while hiking Table Mountain? Slim. I spend a lot of time on the mountain, often in remote locations, and haven’t seen a Puff Adder in years. As for Berg Adders, I chance upon one perhaps once a year. Puff Adders seem to be more prevalent around Cape Point, as I have come across them twice in the last eight visits to the area. Both times they were coiled up in the path, basking in the sun and in no hurry to get out of the way. Mean-looking and with a face only a mother can love, I steered a wide berth around them.

From Adders to ladders. A few routes on Table Mountain feature artificial aids at some point along the way, whether it be steel ladders, staples (U-shaped steel bars fixed to the rock) or chains. One of the most well-known ladders are those found in Skeleton Gorge, where they help hikers to negotiate a steep and treacherous section in the ravine bed.

Another route that has benefited from artificial aids is India Venster, notorious after it saw a spate of fatalities in 2009. Since Table Mountain is a national park and a World Heritage Site, authorities are usually loath to pin ironmongery to the mountain, but in this case it was justified. On other routes, the use of aids is questionable, like the chains on Kloof Corner and the staples on the Llandudno Ravine route.

The newly-installed chains and staples on Lion’s Head (formerly only chains) sparked off an impassioned debate among regular hikers and climbers. Some pundits are of the opinion that the existence of an easier and safer way to the summit renders them superfluous and only defaces the mountain, while others maintain that they enhance the route and makes it more accessible and safer to novice hikers. Then there are those who feel that too much ironmongery has been affixed; that it constitutes an overkill in the use of aids.

This is a contentious issue and will always be, with opinions surfacing on forums and articulated on the mountain being as virulent as an Adder’s venom.



(c) Riaan Vorster

The first European to climb Table Mountain

At first thought I wanted to head this blog with ‘The first man to climb Table Mountain’, but that distinction belongs to a traceless individual whose name we shall never know – probably a young herdsman or hunter from the Khoi-khoi tribe, indigenous people who settled around Table Mountain hundreds of years before the arrival of the white man. However, we do know the first European to climb the mountain: a Portuguese explorer by the name of Antonio de Saldanha. The year was 1503, and Saldanha found himself separated from his fleet and unsure as to whether they had rounded the Cape of Storms (present-day Cape Point). He needed a vantage point from which to get his bearings and the lie of the land. So when they espied a flat-topped mountain overlooking a sheltered bay, he made a beeline for the coast and proceeded to climb the mountain along a deep ravine running diagonally up the front face. Lucky for him the summit was free of cloud, for he got clear views of False Bay to the southeast, confirming their position: they had not yet rounded the Cape of Storms. The climb proved helpful in more than one way, for they discovered a stream of fresh water flowing down the ravine, enough to water his fleet.

Saldanha named the mountain Taboa do Cabo, meaning Table of the Cape. The ravine by which he gained the summit is now known as Platteklip Gorge (Flat-rock Gorge), and it is the shortest and most direct way to the top. It is interesting to note that, according to historical records, Saldanha reluctantly climbed the mountain. He did it in the line of duty, for he had bigger fish to fry (establishing a trade route to India) and could ill-afford the time and energy it took to slog up. Also, it involved a certain measure of risk, since dangerous animals (lions, leopards and hippos) as well as potentially hostile tribes inhabited the area.

So exactly how difficult was Saldanha’s climb to the top? Unfortunately, he didn’t leave us with details of the climb, but we can still form a pretty good picture of what it must’ve been like. Let us contrast it with what the hike is nowadays. It takes the average hiker about an hour and a half to reach the summit of Table Mountain up Platteklip Gorge, along a well-constructed path made of rock-steps. The elevation gain is about 700 meters – from 360 meters, where you leave your car, to 1065 meters on the summit. And you don’t have to walk down; the cable car is round the corner. Back in 1503, Platteklip Gorge was a very different proposition. While we dodge traffic and pedestrians today on our way to the start, Saldanha and his men had to dodge lions, hippos and an unknown indigenous tribe – all the way from the coast (and sea level). There was no path, needless to say, so they had to battle their way through dense vegetation for much of the way. Most hikers nowadays opt to take the cable car down. Saldanha didn’t have that luxury; after a gruelling ascent, they faced an equally gruelling descent. One wonders what they had to say about the view on reaching the summit.

Just for the record, the first woman to climb Table Mountain was Lady Anne Barnard. Along with Sir John Barrow, two naval officers, her maid, a couple of servants and several slaves (straining under the weight of cold meats, Port, Madeira and Cape wine), she set out up Platteklip Gorge in July 1797, dressed in her husband’s trousers, her shoes tied on with tape and carrying an umbrella. They reached the summit after a five-hour slog, feasted on their cold meat and drank a toast to the king. Unlike other early travellers who climbed Table Mountain, they opted to stay overnight on the summit, only descending the next day the way they had come, Lady Anne sliding down most of the way on her rear. Although Hike Table Mountain offers hikes up Platteklip Gorge as their easiest half-day option, we only pack Port and wine on very special occasions.

(c) Riaan Vorster