First impressions of Cape Town's iconic mountain...

[The Ga[M]er.]

Table Mountain never fails to impress first-time visitors, heck it never fails to impress regular hikers who make it to the top either. Here newly-relocated Cape Town resident Maxine Becket shares her experience. 

"From high above the ground it brings a sense of peace, serenity and belonging.

It welcomes you with a crisp breeze away from the city air and the animals that call this beautiful place home are all too ready to show off.

If Cape Town were a human being then Table Mountain would be its pulse giving life to the city, pumping it with an endless supply of much needed euphoria.

As a fairly new resident of Cape Town, I am still captivated by Table Mountain and its painting-like perfection, the rolling clouds above it and its presence that doesn’t have to demand any attention.

For the first time, I went up the mountain and it was an experience that I can only describe as gratifying and fulfilling.
The rotating cable car up to the mountain was only a sneak peak of what the mountain would offer.

I could feel the pulse of Table Mountain, the breathtaking yet invigorating sights as we ascended gave me goosebumps.

I stepped off the cable car limiting my expectations, but in retrospect what was about to greet me would have never matched what my mind could conceive.

It felt like I was looking into eternity…what looked like small waves, making up a never ending ocean; at its feet a posh suburb miminised to speckled riches.

Mountains decorate the sky, birds swoop the air and dassies stop to greet their visitors. 

The one side of the mountain offered views of nature in its splendour, a place where one can take time out from life and breathe in everything Table Mountain exhales.

The other side almost brings one back to reality with views of Cape Town the city, the harbour and the ever charming Lion’s Head.

I stood there looking down at the place I now call home in awe of the beat radiating from this mountain top; pulsating with life, rejuvenating to the senses and sending tingles of love.

This side of the mountain served as a reminder to me that viewing life from a different angle can be more beautiful than scary. When it gets tough, change the view.