I’m standing on top of Devil’s Peak, marvelling at the world. You can see every corner of Cape Town from this height, from the City Bowl to the Southern Suburbs, the forested Tokai region and even all the way to Gordon’s Bay. I breathe it all in. Silence.
It was a golden morning. I could see the sun’s rays stretching to butter Lion’s Head. Ruan, Oda and I made our way along the Signal Hill road, but it seems this beautiful morning had called all of Cape Town out to hike. Instead, we ventured along Tafelberg Road.
We weren’t really sure where we were going when our feet hit the road. But off we were.
We turned off Tafelberg road to tackle the first zig-zag route up Devil’s Peak. It was steep and the air was warm for 7:30 am. I could tell it was going to be a hot day. We kept pushing onwards, frequently stopping to gaze down at the world rolling out below us. Cape Town City Bowl was getting smaller and I was happy to put this distance between us.
I have been breathing city air for too long.
This way up was steep. I could feel my calves straining the whole way. But I was impressed by the silence. This route was much quieter than Lion’s Head, without ambitious tourists yapping away to the top. Ruan, Oda and I made a good hiking trio. Oda led the way, followed by Ruan and I tailed behind snapping photos as often as they would allow.
I must admit – it was a challenging hike. The last bit of the track had loose stones and sand that kept tripping us up. We paused when we reached the final ledge before the summit to soak in the vista.
Oda soaking up the view and silence, Devil’s Peak.
As we sat and gazed out at Cape Town, we were struck by the view and the silence. There were no police sirens or excessive hooting or yelling. Instead, all we heard was a faint rumble drifting up from the city life. We paused for a few more moments in the shade, before pushing onwards and upward.
The sun caught us in the last little section. I was happy to soak up the sunlight.
Reaching the top of Devil’s Peak had us all panting.
A quick breather on top of Devil’s Peak.
Maybe also grabbing a quick tan on Devil’s Peak.
Upon reaching the pinnacle of Devil’s Peak we let ourselves breathe. We had a panoramic view of the entire Cape Peninsula. My eyes drifted from the roof of Cape Town (Table Mountain), right towards Lion’s Head, which looked miniature from here. Then the incoming ships docking at our harbour grabbed my attention. Slowly I let my eyes slide the full 360°. The smoke from the fire that had sparked in Hout Bay the night before shrouded the entire False Bay area in a black smog.
I’m on top of the world! Devil’s Peak, Cape Town.
After a few more minutes of drinking in the vista, we turned our backs to the sun and started our descent.
