I love hiking. And hiking the Kasteelspoort up Table Mountain in South Africa is one of my best travel memories. I’m not a runner, I despise jogging but I can walk and walk for hours.
Right now, I am writing this whilst sitting in South Africa, in a beautiful villa in Camps Bay near Cape Town which is definitely another thing to be grateful for. And this morning I ticked something off my bucket list, which was to hike the Kasteelspoort route up Table Mountain.
NB There are no photos of me in this post. I do not work out prettily, I look like an utter horror and frankly didn't feel like immortalising myself whilst drenched in sweat. But the scenery is pretty!
The Kasteelspoort route
The Kasteelspoort starts at the Jeep track near Camps Bay (see photo below) and then goes up over the 12 Apostles side of Table Mountain. You get incredible views back over Camps Bay and the Atlantic Ocean and there are beautiful rock formations and even an old cable car ruin to stop for a picnic and photos. It is around 7km in length and will take you 4-5 hours depending on your fitness level and how many times you stop for breaks.
Things you will need
Good shoes, a hat, suncream and a lot of water. To get back down in the cable cars you will need to book tickets, so a method of payment will be useful too.
Important things to know
I would not personally recommend this route for children or those less mobile. My friend who was pregnant met us at the top and went via cable car. That being said, about halfway up we encountered an elderly couple who walk it every single day and seemed a heck of a lot more spritely than we were! It all depends on what you are used to.
As we are in the height of summer we set off early at 8 am and chose a route that stays on the Atlantic side of the mountain so that you are in the shade for the first part as the sun rises from behind it.
We continued all the way to the cable car station as that’s how we wanted to get down again. All in all, it took us 4.5 hours including a few short breaks.
You start on a jeep trail which feels nice and simple...
...before finding yourself on terrain like this. These are my friends impersonating mountain goats.
It was tough. To be completely honest if I had known how tough it would be I probably would have chosen a different route given how unfit I was at the time. It is a steep and rocky terrain and you are clambering up big rocks for sections as well as ladders, it is not for the faint-hearted. And then there is the heat to contend with (WEAR A HAT). But it was a real personal challenge for me to do it and get my head back to a place where I feel active again. When you’re feeling out of control, take it back by doing something you can feel proud of and that pushes you out of your comfort zone. The euphoric feeling afterwards is the best ointment money can buy. Also, it forces you to be present. You have to focus on the task at hand, choosing where your feet go and paying attention to your body as falling over could literally be deadly at some points.
By the time we reached the end, and there were many moments where we thought we were climbing the last peak only to get to the top of it and see 3 others still to go. We were all exhausted but especially me as my fitness level was so far below the others. But it was great to have a bunch of my best and most supportive friends on the hike to encourage me. If there had been someone less fit or able than me I would have spent the whole time worrying about them and feeling guilty as I chose the route. We were a group of six and it meant that at times some could power on ahead whilst we took it slower, and vice versa.
The worst point was where the path took you all the way down a steep valley and back up again. I had a serious sense of humour failure at this point but with no choice other than to keep going, I pressed on. I don’t have photos of that section as I was in a seriously dark mood. But short of calling in a helicopter to rescue you...you’re stuck. Another good analogy: when the going gets tough, keep going!
When we got to the tourist centre at the cable car area with all these people who had ridden up I felt like shouting I WALKED HERE YOU KNOW but to be fair I needn’t have bothered as I resembled a sweaty potato. I fell upon a packet of biltong and a bottle of cold water and slumped into a chair. I kept looking over the edge and thinking, did I really hike up here? Proud moment.
No photos of me though as I was not camera ready. In any way.
We got the cable car back down (Although three of the group chose to run down because they were completely insane) and then went back to our air bnb, ate lunch and flopped. I am now reading by the pool and considering a gin and tonic at any...minute...now...
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