Table Mountain

Arguably the best known mountain in the southern hemisphere, Table Mountain is always an unforgettable sight, especially in summer when a south easterly gale spills clouds and fog over the rim of this huge grey massif to create the famous 'tablecloth'.

Isolated from the Cape folded belt of mountains and the escarpment ranges which edge the interior plateau, Table Mountain, 1134m, faces due north and is flanked by Devil's Peak in the east and Lion's Head in the west.

Table Mountain dominates the chain of Cape Peninsula mountains which extends all the way to Cape Point. There are in fact two 'tables' to the mountain: the front and most conspicuous table and the rear table, which drops southwards along the peninsula as far as Chapman's Peak, south of Hout Bay, wiht spurs extending eastwards to Muizenberg and Kalk Bay on the False Bay coast.

The west face of this range is called the Twelve Apostles, twelve buttresses overlooking Camps Bay and the southern Atlantic Ocean. The east face overlooks Kirstenbosch National Botanic Gardens, Newlands, hallowed in the annals of South African rugby and cricket, Groote Schuur, until recently the official residence of South Africa's prime ministers and now a national monument, and Groote Schuur Hospital where the world's first heart transplant operation was performed in December 1967.

The Cape Peninsula mountains are renowned throughout the world for their astonishing diversity of plant life. More than half of the Peninsula's 2600 species of indigenous plants are found on Table Mountain alone.

The six minute cableway ride to the summit of Table Mountain offers visitors panoramic views of ocean, beach, city and mountain. At the top there are several easy walks, including one to Maclear's Beacon, which marks the highest point on the mountain.

Silvermine Nature Reserve takes its name from a shaft that was sunk in 1687 by prospectors hunting for silver. Covering some 2400ha, this sanctuary is famed for its dramatic scenery, abundant plant life and sandstone caves.