Hiking up Lions Head

November 10, 2014

This post was originally posted in Travel Mzantsi.

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I am not the most physically fit young woman but I love pushing my body to limits. I am that girl that literally craves that stiffness a day after doing extreme sports. So after an afternoon in Cape Town stuck to the laptop, I decided to go hike up Lions head.

A friend had suggested that this was a great idea as it will give me 360 degrees of Cape Town. My friend didn’t not lie, the views of Cape Town from Lions head are exceptionally breath taking views. 

Lion’s Head forms part of the Table Mountain range and provides a scenic backdrop to the City of Cape Town. It falls within the Table Mountain National Park and rises to a height of 669m (2195ft) above sea level.

As much as I struggled my way to the top, my never say die attitude kept me going. It took more than an hour to climb to the top and I am glad I persevered. I really at some point thought to turn back and go back to my backpackers but I stayed strong. I am that girl who doesn’t want to live with regret, no matter how small it may be. If’s and But’s are not my ideal way of doing this life thing. Everytime the idea to quit pops up I my head, I always think that after a while it will be all over but if I have given up, then after that while I will be kicking myself for not going through with it.

What I didn’t know was that it was a full moon and this is a very important time to hike Lions Head. This turned out to be very great news for me as I was climbing alone and it was in the evening. I would be coming back after dark and I also don’t know how long it will take. 

Great news is there were so many people all hiking up with the hopes to see the beautiful full moon I all her glory. I was prepared for a hike as I took lots of water to avoid dehydration. What I didn’t know and would later find out when I got to the top, is unlike mine – most backpacks were filled with picnic goodies. A lot of wine is consumed at the top of Lions Head and the beautiful part is that everyone picnics responsibly. They take down whatever they bring up. 

Because so many people were climbing, we also made friends. They say there is safety in numbers, I can guarantee that there is also ease in conquering obstacles in numbers.

I did manage to get to the top of the mountain after just an hour and being soaked wet from sweat. 

There are people who run to the top of the mountain, HOW FIT MUST YOU BE TO ATTEMPT THAT??? Well, utmost respect for all of them.

Next time I am in Cape Town I will definitely be climbing Lions Head again. When coming down because it was after dark, there were lots of flashlights.  I didn’t know how it would looked until I saw this on Friday from my backpackers. This looks absolutely beautiful because it just looks like there’s a lot of fireflies all over the mountain.

For the best exercise in Cape Town, do yourself a favour and climb Lions Head next time you are in Cape Town.

 

x0x0

#TheSoloWanderer 

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