Exhausted after 20 hours of flying, we sat in the common area of An African Villa, our cozy guesthouse in Cape Town with its lovely owner. She walked us through a list of must-see and -do Cape Town attractions and activities, including a hike up Table Mountain, the huge flat-topped mountain looming over the entire city, visible from almost any spot in town. She explained that we should take a quick 1.5 hour up and down route through the central gorge, the entrance to which could be found after passing numerous other parking lots and trailheads.

Yearning for a nap and shower, we didn't really hear anything she said. So when we set out the following morning for our brisk and "easy" hike, we were just planning to tick the box and move onto breakfast at 11am.

We arrived at one of the first parking areas and trailheads by the lower cable car station assuming of course that this was the main (i.e. popular) entrance, ignoring the many signs all around, and headed up the trail.

View of the city from the base of Table Mountain, before our hike.

After 20 minutes of huffing and puffing up the steep rock steps, our thighs were burning. Not many people were around, but we just assumed we were early birds. We kept on pushing through, because in our minds, this was going to be a short hike and we were probably nearing the top (even though it looked very far away!).

Stephen taking a breather overlooking the city.

Little did we know, we had taken the India Venster route, an extremely challenging and dangerous hike where at times, we were free soloing (climbing without a rope) up the mountain, or when we were lucky, pulling ourselves up with chains and metal bars. Needless to say, it was intense, and scary, but the views were beyond rewarding. We snaked around the side of the mountain, which afforded us awesome views of Cape Town, Lions Head mountain, and Camps Bay to the west. We came across a pair of older gentlemen, who have been rock climbing and hiking up the mountain every weekend since 1963. Seeing them scrambling up the rocks with smiles on their faces only made us more motivated to finish it ourselves.

View from our Table Mountain hike.  The clouds create a "blanket" as locals call it. — View from our Table Mountain hike. The clouds create a "blanket" as locals call it.

Sometimes there were luckily metal steps we could use to pull ourselves up

There should also be one of these signs at the bottom :)

About halfway up, we met some local guys named Wesley and Jandre, and we would end up hiking together for the remainder of the day. Once we all reached the top (after 3.5 hours for us), the four of us sat on a ledge overlooking beautiful Cape Town, sharing an amazing sense of accomplishment after conquering such a difficult and special route, as well as some hot dogs and chips. It was an incredible way for Stephen and I to celebrate knowing each other for six years. And it was my favorite day on the trip so far!

- Michelle

Exhausted, happy and enjoying some snacks with new friends!

Starting our descent down the easy route, Platteklip Gorge.

View down Platteklip Gorge.  We are happy we made the mistake we did, as the views were pretty boring! — View down Platteklip Gorge. We are happy we made the mistake we did, as the views were pretty boring!