The lower cable-station, looking from the cable car on Table Mountain. You can see Lion’s Head in the distance.
Tag: <span>cable car</span>
Last Sunday, Lois and I went to the top of Table Mountain on the Cable Car (thanks to Table Mountain Aerial Cableway for the free tickets). It was a beautufully clear day, and you could see for miles and miles. Of course, the view from the top is amazing!
The first shot is of the city bowl (business district), with Lion’s Head on the left, and in the distace you can see Robin Island, and the beaches of Blouberg on the right.
And the next shot is of Lion’s Head with one of the cable car’s in the foreground, and once again Robin Island on the right. You can walk to the top of Lion’s head in about an hour or so, and it is fulled with lines of people climbing to the top on full moon nights.
The lines to get to the top of Table Mountain are long (unless you climb to the top in which case there are no lines), but it is an amazing experience, and well worth the wait.
Torre Jaume I is the midway tower on the Barcelona Cableway. The cableway was built in 1929 and I am convinced that all the original parts are still being used. It is old, rickety and a little scary, but hugely fun in a retro kind of way.
This tower is 107 meter high, and is the midpoint of the cable car. In theory, you can climb out and stand on the observation platform, but our car went straight past. It still gives you a great view of Barcelona and the harbour area, but a one-way trip is probably sufficient.
Until I started trail running, I thought I was pretty fit (I can run a 21km half marathon without too much difficulty), but after going on two trail runs, I have realised that I am going to need a whole different level of fitness to keep this up.
The group that I have joined start running every Saturday morning around 7am. It means getting up really early on the weekends, but the views on the mountain make it so worth the early start.
On my weekend run, I even tried to fly, but alas did not manage to miss the ground, so a couple of bruised knees and sore left ankle later I completed the 15km route. Note that this was 15km up and down a mountain, not 15km on the level.
I took my happy snappy camera on the last run, so here is just a taste of the experience.
Lion’s Head (left) and Signal Hill (right). Notice how it looks like a lion lying on the ground, hence the name.
Running along Table Mountain, yes those little dots are us
Running towards the Cable Car. The building on the bottom is the lower cable station, and you can see the cable car in the middle. Lion’s head is in the distance.
Cable Cars. Although it was a lovely day, it was still quite misty, here you can see the cables going up into the mist on the top of the mountain. If you come to Cape Town, you must take a trip to the top of the mountain, it is truly magnificent.
So am I hooked on Trail Running? Absolutely, see you on the mountain.
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