Table Mountain is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. Located in Cape Town, South Africa this tourist attraction is visited by millions of people every year. For those planning on visiting South Africa during the summer of fall, this would be a great attraction to come and see. When coming to Table Mountain, Cape Town there are a number of interesting facts that you should know before visiting. Many of these facts can help enhance your experience while visiting this attraction. Some of these facts can even help you determine when the best time you want to visit it.
1) The Table Mountain found in Cape Town is one of the oldest mountains in the world. The mountains here are about 266 millions years old. When compared to the Andes, these mountains are vastly older. The Himalayas are considered to be extremely old mountains when compared to other mountain ranges in the East. However, the Himalayas are only about 40 million years old. When compared to the Table Mountain, it is considered a baby. During this time, these mountains have experienced a wide variety of ecological changes in the world.
2) The very first woman to document her climb up these mountains was Lady Anne Barnard. Lady Anne Barnard was the wife of the Colonial Secretary of the Cape. In an interesting twist of fate, she borrowed his trousers to make the climb up the mountain. She made it to the top of the mountain in 1797 with her husband, John Barrow and her maid. John Barrow was a naturalist and explorer who had a desire to scale the mountain. In order for them to take all of their food and equipment along, they brought twelve house servants to help.
3) These mountains are well known for their winds that blow during different times in the season. There are three major types of winds that blow in this region. The Berg wind is an incredibly dry and warm that typically blows during the winter time.This wind tends to blow from the inland and can be felt all around Cape Town. The South Eastern howls are typical during the summer and spring times. This type of wind is typically rather cold and damp. The North Easter howls are similar to the South Easter howls, except they occur during the fall to early winter.
4) Some Historians have found evidence that in the not so distant past, black maned lions roamed around these mountains. Van Riebeeck was an Dutch colonist who have recorded the presence of black maned lions roaming about this area. During one of his accounts of the lion’s habits, he noted that the lions would constantly kill the local sheep. Since the lions were slaughtering these larger animals so frequently, many of these animals began to migrate. In some cases certain species of birds became extinct, because of these lions.
5) There was once a hermit that lived in Cape Town many years ago. This hermit’s name was Cecil Townsend who lived in a near by cave in Cape Town. He lived in this cave for about eight years with a number of different pets including: a cat, lizard and a dog. He was well known for playing his guitar around the town. He kept himself fed by doing dirty jobs around the town. These jobs included: felling trees and cleaning gutters. He would go on to found the Cape Mountain Club.
